Fragarach

Unlikely Reunion

A while after leaving the lake, Raven’s body could not move a single inch and is aching in pain.

[Ugh, what the heck. This wasn’t like this a moment ago.] he thought as he stare at his trembling body.

His body change from skinny and undeveloped body into a well-refined one to the point that anyone would be amazed and be left in awe if they somehow saw his body that embodies perfection. Ignorant of the great changes on his own body he gaze at the surroundings around him with a confused look.

[Were the trees around here always this tall? Or did I wander in the wrong forest when I was a kid? No, I am pretty sure that this is the place but how did it change drastically, the tall trees, tall weeds, the moss, everything.] he told himself as he recall how sure he was of his memories of the place.

After a short while of his body taking a rest, his strength slowly returned to his body it is as if he work non-stop for the past few weeks that his body’s system shut down of exhaustion.

He slowly starts to stand up and walk slowly towards the city.

“And he was like” No! Don’t!””

The guards laugh as they fool around with each other. All of them are laughing until one of the guard’s face turned pale as he look at the direction of the lake. The others were quite disturbed by his sudden change of expression so they all gaze towards the direction where the guard is facing and saw something they could not believe even with their eyes.

A kid with a purple hair who is supposed to be dead slowly walk towards the city entrance. Raven saw them standing stiff at a distance, he knew that they still hate and maybe hates the fact that he still lived after being thrown at a lake.

[Looks like they have seen a ghost.] he told himself as he walk towards them.

The guards froze in their places as they saw the kid pass by them. His hair cover almost his entire face, his purple hair, the symbol of bad omen for them just walk pass them. They did not even dare to meet with his eyes as cold sweat drips from their foreheads.

“W-ww-was that su-pposed to b-be the kk-kid that died r-ight?” he ask as his teeth clatter in fear.

The guard ask his fellow guards who only nodded to answer him.

“Is he haunting all of us?”

After passing through the entrance Raven took a left turn where he always walk whenever his mother ask him to get some stuff outside the city. Everything seem to have changed to the surroundings of their house, the house on the contrary did not change in any way.

[Well at the very least our house did not change.] he told himself as he stop on their doorstep.

One of the kids who bullied him accidentally caught a glance of him in front of his house.

His eyes widened after seeing that Raven lived after what they have done to him. His body started shaking as he rush to the houses of the other kids who used to bully Raven and tell them about what he saw.

The news quickly spread like wildfire but others believe that it’s a lie that everybody else made up.

“Mom? Are you there?”

Raven knock at the door for a while but after hearing no answers he decided to enter their house.

[Guess she went out for a while.] he assumed as he look around the interior of their house.

“I miss this place, seems like nothings change huh.”

He sat on the bench as he waits for his mother to come home.

“Where could she have gone to?”

And almost instantly after telling himself that, the door slam heavily. This startled him a little and look at the door to see what had bump into their door like it was going to get detached form the pillars of the house.

*Pant* *Pant* *Pant* *Pant* *Pant*

He saw his mother heavily breathing at the front of their door, their eyes met. He smiles after seeing his mother, her eyes instantly became watery as soon as she saw her son well and alive. She immediately run towards him and embrace him tightly. Raven hug her the same, his mother started crying. He saw the wrinkles and bags under his mother’s eyes, she turned a little skinny after just a few weeks of his absence.

Concerned of what happened to his mother he ask.

“Mom, what happened to you? Why are you skinny? You weren’t like that before.” His concerned voice manage to reach his weeping mother’s ears.

“Instead of worrying about me, why don’t you worry about yourself? Where on earth have you been?! I have been searching everywhere for you!” his mother’s voice sounded really angry.

“I’m sorry for not letting you know Mom. I just went to some place for just a few weeks.” He answered as his mother’s eyes widen with his answer.

“Some place? You went there for only a few weeks? Without bringing anything but the clothes that you are wearing?”

The anger in his mother’s voice does not seem to cool down as he senses something that’s not sitting right.

“Yes, just for a few weeks” he answered in a meek voice.

His mother could not immediately talk back to him as she sat on the bench.

“Do you know how long you have been missing?” his mother ask in a soft tone.

“Of course, I’ve been counting the days and it’s just free weeks a full month.” He answered as his heart starts to beat faster with the atmosphere around them.

“Three…………..three years” she muttered. “You have been missing for three years.”

Raven was shock after hearing his mother say the words “three years” that he lost his sense of balance and fell on his knees.

“That’s impossible. I know that I was counting the days that went by, there must be some mistake.” Raven insisted.

He saw the honesty in his mother’s eyes he suddenly remembered what the angel had told him before he left the lake.

[“You will see what I mean later”]

The angel’s voice echoed in his head as he remembered what the angel had told him. Chills were running down to his spine as he finally understood what the angel meant by saying such things.

His mother stood and hold his shoulders.

“Everything is fine now that you have returned. I wish you had sent me a letter so that I could have prepared a decent meal for your return.” She comforted her son.

Even though everything is fine now that Raven had return to his mother safe and sound she still worries about the small things.

Raven saw that his mother is getting old, especially the last three years that he went missing, he can guess what she had been doing without his presence. Everything that his mother went through just to look for her son is reflected in her solemn brown eyes. After seeing all that happened to his mother in just a flash, tears started to break out from his eyes. His gratefulness towards his mother is indescribable.

After a hearty meal they discuss some really important things. His mother did not bother asking about the details of his disappearance when Raven declined her question when she asked as they ate their dinner.

“I am going to the academy to fulfill my dream (purpose). You will no longer carry the burden alone.”

“Then I have to work more hard enough then.” His mother said.

Both of them talk more about the details and after that his mother told him about how she missed him for the last three years.

Not knowing that her son made an unimaginable encounter and understood his destiny, his purpose of having to experience all that he had since childhood was to see what needs to be changed in the world of the mortals.

His mother knew that it is his dream even as a child to save the world from the demon lord. His mother did not know that his drive and dream to defeat the demon lord is rooted in his very soul. The soul that once had gone toe to toe with the demon lord and longs to end the vile hands that’s keeping the mortals from advancing.

The evening arrive just as fast as the sun rises in the morning. His mother told him that his hair had gone long so she brought some scissors and a comb to cut his hair. Raven saw that his hair is indeed long enough so he sat down and let his mother do her thing.

“I have one request Mom.” His mother is quite the listener so she hear him out. “What is it my dear?”

“Can you please just cut the edges of my bangs and just trim the rest?” he pleaded. His mother understood what Raven is trying to say and nodded. After hearing what his son requested she proceeds to cut his hair.

After cutting his hair, his mother left him and said good night. Raven also went to his room after saying good night to his mother. His hair is not quite as long as it had been since he left the lake. He tried to imagine something like a hair tie in his palm then things started to change. A red thread came out of nowhere and forms a circle. It kept moving in circles until the form of the hair tie is made then a gold in powder form rise from the ground like water flowing to a stream. It surrounds the red thread in a spiral motion and then it stop on top of the red hair tie as a design.

After the hair tie had finished he use it to tie his hair. As he saw his face in the mirror, he really resembles the face of the angel then he smiled.

After the encounter with the angel, some of his needs are no longer a necessity. For instance, he no longer feel sleepy and the need to drink and eat for his well-being. But due to his human nature, he still slept and eat and drink.

[Mom would be shock to learn that her son no longer needs the basic necessities and might end up giving her a stroke] he shake his head as he picture out what might happen otherwise. [Let’s keep it to ourselves.] and forced himself to sleep as he lay down.

The next day as he did not really had an ounce of sleep, Raven set out early in the morning with his hunting knife and other tools. Thought he did not really need such things to do if he wanted to hunt some animal meat for his mother to sell, he still did it so that his mother and other people would not find him weird and suspicious whenever he return with some decent meat.

Before leaving their house, he left a note saying that he is out hunting for meat and left his mother breakfast, he used fire magic and keep the food warm until his mother wakes up.

A few moments later his mother woke up, this is her usual time to wake up for the past forty years. When she entered the kitchen she was surprised to see that there is a breakfast waiting for her. She saw the note saying that Raven went out to hunt. She smiled brightly as she pray for his safety during his hunting.

“Take care, my son.” She said as the smell of the breakfast made her feel hungry.

She was surprised even more when she eat the food.

[Hmmmm? Why is it still warm like it’s just been taken out from the casserole? It’s surprisingly nice, when did he learn to cook such delicious meal?]

The soup was still piping hot that smoke is still coming out from the bowl, she got curious after savoring the meal that her son had left her on how he managed to make the soup as warm as it is.

She did not let it bother her, she is happy knowing her son has changed.

A few moments later Raven return home carrying on his back and shoulder fresh wild boar and deer meat. Raven spill some deer blood on his face and arms to make it look like he struggle really hard to catch these things that on the in truth did not even made him break a sweat.

His mother was surprised and amused at the same time seeing what her son had brought home with him.

“Dear, where did you get those healthy and large boars and deer? Usually there are no animals like these outside the city. These are rare and can only be found near the ruins.” His mother explained.

Raven smiles as he proudly says that he ask the guards at the entrance where to find the best hunting grounds with the top quality meat. After hearing what he said his mother frown.

“Hunters don’t usually hunt on that place because it’s dangerous and in some cases, some hunters did not make it out alive.” His mother explained.

The smile on Raven’s face slowly fade away as he realize why the guards recommended that place for hunting.

[Do they really want me dead that much?] he thought to himself. The guards purposely guided him to a dangerous hunting grounds for certain death knowing no hunters would go there because of the danger.

He sigh in disappointment and shake his head. [So that’s why there were no other hunters around, even the trail on the road is so vague. Good thing had that training with Aranx. So that’s why they look shock after I returned.]

His mother still can’t think of a way how can her son bring home some high quality meat that even royalties would want to get their hands on.

“The money we can make with everything you brought here is going to be huge, but there is another problem.” His mother calculated the expected sales that they can make with just that much meat.

Raven carried on and forgot what the guards did as he heard his mother about the new problem.

“What is the other problem Mom.” He ask. “How do we store this much meat without rotting? It is clearly too much even if I dry some of it”

“Oh that, Mom did I forgot to tell you that I can manipulate mana?” he said. “Huh? Where did you learn that? It even costs a lot just to know the basics of manipulating mana.” his mother inquired.

Raven scratch his head as he tries to give her a simple answer.

“Someone was generous enough to teach me the basics.” He answered.

His mother, unsatisfied with his answer stare at him with suspicious eyes. What happened earlier was a little understandable but this time it’s different. As his mother piece everything out in her mind, her eyes widened as she realized how the soup is piping hot even after some time of being cooked.

“Don’t tell me-“she did not finish her sentence because Raven knew what she is thinking about and just nodded as an answer.

She felt really happy for Raven that he learn how to manipulate mana, she congratulated him and promise to cook him a delicious meat recipe that she learned from her grandfather.

And as for the solution to his mother’s problem, he took a large box and filled a thick layer of ice inside and told his mother to put the meat that might be left after she sold everything.

His mother stood in awe as to how her son skillfully manipulated mana to his bidding after that Raven wash himself after slicing off the meat from his catch and told his mother that he will be out to explore the city.

“Be sure to stay out of trouble and come home early ok?” his mother reminded.

Raven wanted to help her sell the meat but she insisted that she would do it herself since he did the hunting.

“Okay Mom.” He swore as he shut the door slowly.

He walk leisurely around the city visiting the traumatic places from his childhood. All of the sudden he notice five malicious aura directed at him. He look aback before they could say anything and saw the very group of people who tied him up and threw him into the lake staring daggers at him.