The Legend of Tantus - Book 3

Chapter 2.1 - The one with the curse

    About a hundred winters ago, a mysterious man appeared, unrelated or with any background, his name was Sumith Andaril, as he presented himself to everyone. The fact that he carried the name of a great hero from the past always raised questions, whether he was a descendant of the great Sumith Maxlyeben, the silver guardian, a fact that he happily denied. For some unknown reason he appreciated the city of Mérit very much, but he never approached it, preferring to remain in the distant surroundings watching it, and spent hours and hours walking through the landscapes of the now country of Mérit, but the hidden truth is that he was exactly the same legendary man from the past, the Time Traveler, who simply "moved" to that time, because in the past his best friend carelessly suggested that he go live six hundred winters in the future, a suggestion accepted in part, because instead of six hundred he traveled for "just" five hundred winters ahead. Sumith was seen by all as an iron man of health, as he never became ill, and over the winters he remained the same, always saying that his health was a family heirloom, having discreetly observed the advances of the peoples one day he decided to leave anonymity and be part of that evolution, believing that he was able to give the world more than just security on duty, in addition to finally having the chance to put into practice an old and uncontrollable passion: architectural and engineering projects.

    After fifty winters, with the growth of the city of Mérit beyond the reach of the Millenarian Shield, Sumith began to live in the city, but for obvious reasons he never visited the center and the palace of the regent, due to his willingness to work and impressive competence in development urban he quickly entered the area, using his old projects recovered from his old house on the coast, in a few winters promoted many improvements in the city and, consequently, in the continent. He was also the head of the construction of the great city of Estar, perfectly constructed near the Tree of Life, but his residence remained in the Kingdom of Mérit and, for people who did not know exactly who he was, it was always strange never to introduce himself to the regent Neto Sewall, which obviously gave him some problems, but there was no other way, he wanted to live discreetly without revealing his guardian power, just waiting for fate, something that his precise time traveler instincts told him to do. Due to his very successful work, he easily reached a high position, accumulating a beautiful fortune over the winters, as he was never interested in showing off, extrapolating his finances or building some kind of empire, he was always humble in his life for the valuable teachings of his mother, and always would be, so he loved the simplest pleasures possible, like stuffing himself with treats on his holidays and still enjoying various types of entertainment for hours, especially sports. With certain frequency, he came up with the opportunity to start pleasant relationships, lasting or not, his colleagues used to say that he was lucky, because it was always “raining in his garden”, but these things never happened, since he missed just one woman in his life... Sumith never regretted the extinction of magic, nor the closure of the library, felt that the world was on the right path and sincerely hoped that the wars of yesteryear would never return, although sometimes he missed a good old-fashioned fight because of his ability and elemental power remained as immense as ever. He had returned to dressing in a manner consistent with the times, in the old customary colors, without the chain mail underneath, but his right arm was always covered by a long sleeve and folded in his clothes, as if it were broken, as he said, he had hurt in an accident, so he did not move it much. Thanks to his projects the Lieben continent has evolved monstrously, rivaling Tantus in terms of advancement, but more impressive for being the work of just one person, he gained great renown in his land being called "architect", and with the independence of the regions the continent was divided into four countries: Vida, Rinascer, Mérit and Lieben. But despite the separation, the union of countries was impressive, especially in trade, being perhaps the strongest economy on the six continents, which soon exported its technology to the others, thus sharing the evolution on the planet for about eighty winters until reaching the current level, pride for Sumith.

    As the stubborn and troublemaker he used to be, he felt distressed to see the elemental crystals in action, wanting to show people the true strength of the ancient spells, but this, even for him, would be very stupid, but for his joy his old friends, Arkan and Anarky, visited him with certain frequency, erasing, in a way, the longing for the group's times and fantastic adventures. One day, walking around the kingdom, he saw in the distance a girl, sitting and with tears in her eyes, wearing noble costumes of light colors of the kingdom, her hair very long and golden touched the ground, when approaching he was astonished with her eyes green as the forest and a beautiful angelic face that brought back memories of a lifetime.

- Megami? – asked Sumith.

- ???

- Sorry... For a moment I thought you were someone else... – He seemed to be saddened, in fact it could not be his beloved wife, she had passed away a long time ago. – Do you have any problem?

- Do not worry... – said the young woman.

- People only cry for two reasons, and those tears do not seem to be joyful.

- It's because...

- Do not be afraid, maybe I can help.

- Only if I could bring the dead back to life...

- I see... This is too much. Can I ask your name?

- My name is Yasmine Sewall.

- Sewall. So you are regent Neto's daughter?

- Was... My father passed away this morning.

- My God!

- Did not you know? Do not live in the city?

- Yes, but is that I never go to the center.

- But who are you?

- Sorry for my lack of manners, I am Sumith Andaril.

- So you are the architect, the one who never goes to the palace.

- I am sorry for your father.

- Thank you. But why do you never go to the center?

- This is... a long story...

    Yasmine's resemblance to Iris mesmerized Sumith, her gentle manner, her way of walking and talking, everything, and for some reason she seemed to like him very much. The young woman was only seventeen winters old, a descendant of Solphie Sea and the former king of Lieben, John Alberich, whose children were married and created the new name, Sewall. In Tantus a union was represented by the surname of the husband assumed by the wife, in the race of men, but sometimes the names were simply mixed, as a form of homage and greater mutual respect, and thus new families were born.

- You are named after a great hero from the past. Do you know about Sumith Maxlyeben? – asked Yasmine.

- Not really much. – replied somewhat awkwardly, clearly did not want to give clues as to who he was.

    They chatted pleasantly about stories from the past, and in fact Sumith helped Yasmine to ease the recent grief over her father's loss, even if briefly, he convinced her that everything in life has a purpose and that her father was destined to show her the way as far as he should, and she could honor the things he worked for, because he would be watching her from the other world, from his eternal rest.

- My mother died giving birth to me, and my father raised me as he could. – said Yasmine.

- Nothing in this life is eternal, even if it seems to be. – said Sumith.

- Sometimes I would like some things to be.

- You will find him again, someday.

- I do not know what to do without him.

- None of us know, only you will know, at the right time.

    Sumith created dozens of flowers from the element of light, which soared into the sky in an impressive scene.

- You... are an elemental user! – said Yasmine quite surprised.

- I did not know your father personally, but I know he was an honorable man. – said Sumith. – This tribute is for him.

- Thank you.

    Somehow he touched the young woman's heart, who looked back before returning to the kingdom.

- What am I doing? Iris, you will always be my only love and no one will take your place, I promise.

    With the regent's death, Yasmine should assume the leadership of the kingdom, but for her young age and, mainly, for her own rejection the captain, Régulo, assumed the responsibility until she was ready to rule, if she so wished. The governing of a country was done in the simplest and most democratic way possible, with the regent being elected with at least 60% of the population's votes, only being dismissed from office if 60% again called for new elections, and this would obviously depend the competence of his work. Neto ruled for almost two decades. Régulo was a black moghran, but with golden eyes, some said he was a descendant of Artan himself, the skilled one, although unlikely, he was a loyal person to Neto and was always treated like an uncle by Yasmine, who now without his father saw him in dearest person in her life, so she handed the leadership over to him wisely. Several days passed and the young woman continued to remember the man she had met outside the city, Sumith, she remembered him in a way that surprised her and could not decide between curiosity and passion, she felt a storm in her heart as if she already knew him from times gone by, and his way of acting and looking enchanted her like no other before, although she was very young, so she decided to forget him, she could not be thinking about someone she did not even know, she still had a lot to do, but she could not. The fact was that she missed him, and to stop being a stranger she should not remember, she should simply know him, only then would she know exactly what she was feeling, but he never got to the center, which made her even more curious, and there was only one way to find him again.

    For more than a week Sumith was immersed in his chores, in the city expansion buildings and sometimes at the headquarters of the Urban Advancement Center, in bureaucratic work, and it was on one of these days that he received an unusual visit:

- Sumith, visit for you. – said a co-worker.

- Visit???

- She said she is your sister, and I did not even know you had one...

- Not a sister. – Sumith said to himself as he saw Yasmine standing at the door. – But... maybe she is a good friend.

- It's the regent's daughter! – said the man in a low voice, revealing who she really was.

- I know! – Sumith replied, whispering to his co-worker.

- Fished a big fish, huh! – said the man giving him a nudge.

- !!!

- One of the advantages of being the regent's daughter is finding people easily, and the disadvantage is not being able to deceive anyone. – said Yasmine smiling and approaching after Sumith's co-worker left.

- My lady, I did not expect to see you again.

- I missed someone to talk to, but I do not want to disturb your work.

- You do not disturb me, I am done for today, my lady.

- Do not call me that, it sounds weird.

- But otherwise it would not be respectful.

- There are many forms of respect, such as accepting someone's simple request, for example.

    For hours the two fell into pleasant conversations strolling through the realm, getting to know each other really well. They talked about everything from jobs in the city, economics, but mainly about family, Sumith said that his parents were long gone, but that he had friends who supported him in all ways and even dedicated their lives to save him from doom... She was increasingly enchanted by him, and his stories about ancient legends made him look like a mature man, profoundly knowledgeable on various subjects even though he appeared to be only a few winters older (she never asked his age). For several other days they met and had fun together, the more he looked into Yasmine's eyes, her golden hair and heard her soft voice Sumith saw Iris, so he avoided getting too close to her, he did not want to fall in love, because for him nobody had the right to replace his wife, absolutely. The young woman used to carry a long, simple and well-crafted sword, the architect until then had not paid attention to the weapon, but one day he finally noticed the crystal of Isil set in the pommel and recognized it:

- What a beautiful sword. – said Sumith.

- Thank you. It belonged to my father. – said Yasmine.

- The crystals of Isil are extremely rare, I have seen... I have heard of weapons like that.

- This sword belonged to Shayera Sea, great warrior who fought in the war of the past, it was a wedding gift for my ancestors.

- I understand.

- Legends say that she was a stronger woman than men, was not afraid of death, and was determined as few.

- I know that well... – Sumith said to himself.

- But my father told me that she had a sad destiny, that she fell in love with the legendary Seth Alberich, but was not reciprocated, as he became a lord and left her behind alone...

- The story I heard is different, it said that she was matched, even if only for a short time, and promising to each other that one day they would be together forever. That's why she spent her life happier than many women have ever dreamed of be.

- I liked this version, I will believe it.

- Hahahahaha...

- Hahahahaha...

    According to Yasmine this was the last of the weapons with Isil that could still be brandished. John Alberich's knives were sealed in his grave, Solphie Sea's staff was lost in an incident with goblins, in the middle of the ocean between Zelante and Scyra, more than two centuries ago, Iris Maxlyeben's staff disappeared and was never heard again talk about him, and the Laguna sword of Sumith Maxlyeben remained in Mérit feeding the millenarian shield, and would probably never leave. The more time they spent together the more she was attracted to him, and the more he denied wanting to fall in love with her.

- Say something you do not like. – Yasmine.

- I do not like it when people talk about something without knowing the truth. – Sumith. – How about you?

- I do not like betting games.

- So you do not like playing cards? – And she just shook her head negatively. – Iris liked. – Sumith said to himself.

- It's silly to lose money this way.

- ... – And he just smiled.

- Where did you get this scar? – asked Yasmine, referring to the scar on Sumith's eye.

- Well... It was a work accident. – He replied.

- I like it, makes you more charming.

- !

    Night was already falling and he followed her close to the center, feeling the power of the millenarian shield, did not move on.

- I would like you to visit the palace with me, my uncle would like to meet you.

- Sorry.

- But why?

- Let's say it's a promise I made a long time ago.

- You are very mysterious.

- It's not that I do not want to tell, I just should not.

    She said goodbye to him with a hug, which made his heart beat faster than it had in ages. Yasmine headed home with a smile as Sumith looked up at the skies trying to make sense of it all, of finding someone like her right now, and already starting to think about getting away, moving to another city before it was too late... It was at this moment, when he turned to go back, that he felt a familiar power, but at the same time different, he looked up for the reason and could only see a golden light descending on the young woman, taking her away, it was fast as he did not even remember anymore and immediately went after it, already overflowing with his guardian strength. Jumping over the houses he thought of her, he had no idea who the person was, he knew only the anguish he would feel if Yasmine was hurt, he would not allow anything to hurt her, yes, Sumith was in love, but he would not admit it for nothing.

    Yasmine was taken outside the city limits, but not far. When she was released and recovered from the great fright she looked at her abductor, he was a man with black skin and strangely green eyes, robust, short hair and a long traditional golden sword, longer than hers, in the shape of a star five points on the pommel, like a pentagram, due to its large size it did not have a hem, instead it rested in a perfect fit on the waist, wore a beautiful silver armor with golden details on the boots, gloves and shoulder, did not wear a helmet, and on the back carried broken wings, apparently had gone through countless battles. He was not a scary guy, but his power was felt impressively.

- Who are you?! – asked Yasmine, with her hand on the handle of the sword, actually it took her a long time to believe she was there in the blink of an eye, what a speed.

- Just be quiet. – said the man raising his hand, and his voice was simple. – It's not in my interest to hurt you.

- So why did you bring me?!

- My business is not with you but with the one who is coming here. – When he finished speaking, he looked ahead, and they could both see another person approaching like lightning, Sumith!

    The traveler reached them with a great leap, placing himself in front of Yasmine to protect her (and making her more astonished), and looking the enemy from head to toe:

- Darkanian... – said Sumith. – How many more of you still live in secret around here?

- This is an irrelevant question, but you can bet that you, Tantus, will be the next to leave! – said the man drawing his sword.

- ???

    Sumith obviously did not understand. "Tantus"? Why was he called by the name of the great God? But before the enemy's sword he could not hesitate, clearly felt his frightening power, golden darkanian without a doubt, and also emanating his immense power from the guardian he was ready, the wind was already starting to blow along with the thunder of the approaching clouds, the battle was beginning. Not counting conversation, the stranger jumped on Sumith quickly, attacking to kill him quickly, but the traveler, concentrating his offensive power, fired a powerful holy blast precisely at the enemy's sword, who managed to keep his strength even suspended in the air, and soon Sumith tried to get away from Yasmine, who was simply paralyzed by the extraordinary battle she was witnessing. At a more acceptable distance, he exploded his power in a frightening way, but he knew that just that would never be enough against a darkanian, the stranger remained there, staring at him, seemed to try to understand something, but the fact is that this was an enemy too powerful to face so lightly and unarmed, he would need all his strength to defeat him and that was exactly what Sumith was intended to do. Raising his left hand, a quick greenish glow could be seen rising in the city in the distance, and like a thunder the powerful Max, the first flame of the kingdom was there, in the hand of the time traveler, reacting to the power of his lord, Sumith reached the last level of sync with his weapon, his father's level, and because he was using only one hand, only one of the swords was more suitable. The stranger wisely saw an opponent to match, and now his frighteningly brilliant weapon could not be underestimated either, unlike the traditional enemies of yore, that man, at least apparently, did not appear to be evil, so he was more dangerous, adversaries who are not carried away by hatred, who do not underestimate enemies, would always be wiser and more lucid, and more deadly as a result. Even after so long in a peaceful life Sumith never abandoned his training, although in fact secret, seeking to keep his skills sharp as well as his powers, which he now learned to perfectly balance the guardian with time, becoming even more powerful, worthy even of a darkanian. The first charge of both was at the same time and they had a common goal, to destroy the enemy's weapon, but to their surprises, after the great shock of the swords, both escaped and fell stuck in the ground, Sumith was impressed, contrary to what he imagined the stranger's weapon was not a simple sword, but forged since Darkan's time, an atomizer sword, and this one was also astonished by Max, which he said was the first weapon to withstand his strongest blow. Now unarmed both continued their fight with their fists briefly, between punches and very agile kicks they hit each other violently until Sumith was thrown to the ground, and in the last second he escaped being crushed by the enemy's knee, which cracked the ground, now they faced each other, having recovered their weapons and standing still for a few seconds, studying each other, they already had an idea of their strengths and could use their strategies. Until then the traveler used only his left arm, his right, hidden in his robes, remained in the same position hiding the game, but it was time to show it and fight seriously, causing astonishment for those who thought he was a cripple. Now another glow came from the city to meet him, it was Lyeben, the second flame of the kingdom! Finally joining them, the exceptional Maxlyeben was formed, and just looking at it was enough to understand the danger that that weapon posed to his enemies. The stranger concentrated his golden power, always impressive, but instead of a conventional shot simply the symbol of the pentagram appeared brilliantly in front of his hand, and dozens of serpents came out of it! They crept across the ground at great speed towards Sumith and pounced together, but the traveler leapt away, only to be chased by them frantically, taking a great tour of the landscape with the golden snakes on their heels, Yasmine was still gaping, what a level of combat, even for her who was rigorously trained by Neto and Régulo, so this was a real fight, far above the common level, unmatched. Sumith continued to be pursued as long as his enemy remained focused, in control of his power, it was when the traveler remembered what he had read long ago, in the king's diary, and watching the star on the pommel of his sword and on the breastplate in armor, his opponent was nothing less than an arch sorcerer! So this was his ability, from Darkan's elite, but he also could not be underestimated like that, because in Tantus this ability was practically natural to magic, he finally stopped at the moment when the snakes were approaching at full speed, and to the surprise the stranger generated a powerful shield of light that contained all of them, exploding and gaining more space he fired the “Cut of Light” in a circular manner, reaching and undoing the power of the enemy.

- ??? – Sumith's opponent was really surprised.

    After another glance the stranger concentrated his power again. With a simple step on the ground, the golden glow spread in the blink of an eye around the place, starting to uproot trees and large rocks from the ground, and throwing at the traveler, who had work, but destroyed all with the elements of fire and holy, now more irritated, the same symbol appeared again, this time immense and on the ground, and his opponent gave rise to magnificent forms of animals, strange, probably from Darkan or even another unknown world, but Sumith did not stop and used the "Beasts Flames", countering with their ships, birds, tigers and even forms of men, competing mightily against arch powers.

- Impossible. Tantus was never an arch sorcerer. – said the stranger to himself.

    With each shock of their beasts the night was lit up spectacularly and everything was shaking, the city was obviously alert, but knew nothing about this fight, as they were already far enough away to not be seen, only the crashes were heard and the shocks were seen in the sky. Determined to win this dispute the stranger used his powers to the maximum and created a magnificent form, similar to a dragon, but it was slightly different, a draco! Sumith just watched the scary figure approaching quickly, and even with Yasmine screaming in despair, imagining that he would be dead, the traveler revealed an unusual secret. His right arm glowed in gold, identical to the golden strength of the darkanian, pointing at the draco, the sleeve of his suit was pulverized, and a spectacular golden beam was fired, knocking the creature down.

- Finally decided to show your power of royalty! – said the enemy.

    In Sumith's arm a kind of weapon was revealed, like a technological armored This "arm" was a gift from Arkan many winters ago, saying that it belonged exclusively to him, as always mysterious the old sailor did not reveal the origin of it, as Sumith would find out at the right time, the two argued hilariously while Anarky just laughed at his brother's craze, but of course they understood each other. The traveler always carried that with him, because something told him never to be separated from it, and he always wondered what technology that was, but one thing Sumith was sure (or almost), that golden power was not darkanian, much less the element planar life.

    Now Sumith, with both hands at last, charged at his enemy at surprising speed, but the draco was not yet undone. The clash of their swords was impressive and the impact of the later blows even more, the battle became more frantic than ever and in the meantime the golden lizard rose again, attacking the traveler at his master's command, Sumith escaped to fire his golden beam and stunned him again, and the dance of swords continued until the moment he stopped on a lower plane, the draco was preparing to crush him, the darkanian also fired his beam at him, but it was then that his great power was used, the traveler became the great silver guardian! Yasmine at this point did not even believe her eyes anymore, Lieben's guardian was there, magnificent, majestic, even bigger than the draco. In his transformation he repelled the power of the enemy and held the blow that would defeat him, an incredible dispute of strength started between the gold lizard and the silver lizard, the arch skill was really terrible, no wonder they won countless battles, the fearsome Darkan's elite was able to bring down any opponent to ruin. The dispute continued until Sumith lifted him to the skies, firing his absurd destructive power and pulverized and undid the power of the stranger.

- But what the hell is that power? How did you get that, Tantus? – said the astonished opponent.

    The stranger, adopting a new tactic, moved with great speed, firing hundreds of golden beams on the dragon, because he was also very powerful, and the battle was not decided. Sumith only resisted the shots in his breastplate, in fact it was not easy to escape all that with such a large body, he seemed cornered, and it was at this moment that the stranger attacked aiming at the heart, but fell into the trap of the traveler, who returned to human form escaping the enemy sword and nailing Maxlyeben on the opponent's left shoulder, who by his unusual ability also managed to save his heart.

- Impressive. – said him.

- I still do not understand what you think, but you kidn*pped Yasmine and will pay for it. – said Sumith.

- She was just a decoy, and you leave me no choice.