Rust led me out of the manor, across the street and through the gate on the other side. The gate led into the forest in the valley. The name of this area was commonly referred to as the Center of Creation. Aptly named in my not so humble opinion.
We continued down a path between the trees.
"Why are we here?" I asked.
"This is where you received your calling," Rust answered.
We kept going for what felt like an eternity until finally, we reached a spot where the path just stopped. I looked around and saw that there were several paths that converged on this same spot.
I searched for some special reason as to why they would, and then a soft glow illuminated the area. I looked in front of me and saw a white sphere descending from the sky. It glowed gently.
I took it in my hands and looked at it. For some reason, it made me feel very lonely and sad.
I watched as it pulsated, almost like it was asking me something.
I put my forehead to it and whispered, "what is it?"
I didn't hear anything in response, I just had an impression. I closed my eyes and opened my mind to the sphere.
Memories. Countless, innumerable, painful, pleasant memories flooded my mind. I remembered my calling. I remembered why I travelled so much. And yet, I still didn't remember my name. Then, at the very end of my recollection, I caught a flash of blonde hair, a familiar and comforting scent, a glimpse beautiful blue eyes, but I couldn't place her name.
I opened my eyes when it was over. And let the sphere go and it floated back up and away.
"I'm impressed," Rust said. "The Sphere of Origin doesn't usually show itself so quickly."
I held out my hand and tried to call forth the End All. It didn't come.
"What's wrong?" Rust asked.
"The End All isn't in my armory," I answered.
"The what?"
Everything was pieced together now, except for my name and memories of my life before I became who I was. I had finished the End All just before I fought the dragon. Though I couldn't remember why I had fought the dragon or where.
"The End All is my strongest weapon," I explained turning and walking back to the manor. "I forged it just before I lost my memory. I also need to speak to all of you."
"Okay let's just get back to the manor," he said. But we were already there. And so was everyone else.
"I had forgot that you like to do crap like this," Rust admitted.
"I never told any of you what my calling was," I said. "I was a Traveler because my calling was to gather information. All kinds of information. Battle information, strategic, communication, all of it every enemy I kill, I gather the way they fight, the attacks they use and use them as my own." To demonstrate I covered my right arm with the same lightning that the archdragon Rotuseax had used. "But I also need your help; I created a weapon that is highly effective against every living creature but it appears to have been stolen."
"What does it look like?" Lily asked.
"It's a bladed whip with multiple lengths," I explained. "It's very dangerous in the hands of anyone who knows how to use it, so be careful."
They all nodded.
"To be honest, as long as it's not used in a murder, I am not too concerned, so don't go out of your way to find it." I turned and was about to leave when Rina ran and latched onto my leg.
"You'll come back to play with me?" She asked.
My gaze softened. "Of course," I said, patting her head.
"What are going to do now?" Rust asked.
"Keep another promise I made," I said. "I promised to help Silky find her family."
"I see," he responded. "Well, be careful. We'll be on the lookout for your weapon."
I nodded. Rina let go and I warped away.
-
I landed in an unfamiliar city square where hundreds of people had gathered.
I looked around. They were all staring at me. There was a man standing closer to me than the others, which led me to believe that he was the one who knew the most about what was going on.
"What is it that you need?" I asked.
"My lord," the man pled. "For the past ten years we have been ruled by a tyrant, warrior king. He has been cruel to us, slaughtering many of us for no reason, and taking others as slaves."
I shook my head. "I didn't come here to help you dethrone your king," I told them. "Sorry to disappoint you."
"Your not actually going to leave them are you?" Silky whispered in my ear.
My eye twitched and I grit my teeth.
"My lord," the man pled, getting on his knees. "Please, this oppression, we can stand it no longer."
I looked around at the people. Many of them were poor, had rags for clothes.
I looked up to the north and saw a castle, gleaming and pristine. In comparison the houses and buildings around me were dilapidated. But I could tell they had once been grand.
"I'll look into it," I told them. "You have my attention for now."
"Bless you," the man said. "Bless you."
I was a little uncomfortable hearing that. I wasn't a hero. Regardless I started moving toward the castle.
While I was walking, I examined the architecture further. It was definitely fancy, expensive styles that wouldn't have been accessible to just anyone.
Silky materialized next to me and walked silently for a while before saying, "Can you show me how you determine things?"
I cut my eyes across at her. "Sure, but there really isn't as much to it as you might think." I pointed at one of the buildings. "What do you see when you look at that wall?"
She stared at it. "Uh, bricks?"
"Yeah, but aside from the obvious?"
"The style is a little fancy."
"Which means?"
"That rich people used to live here?"
I pointed at her. "Exactly," I confirmed. "But you have to consider things that you wouldn't usually, like, 'what if they still live here?' And if that is true then that would lead you to believe that the king is in fact not a tyrant, but a strict ruler. If he took over during a rule of oppressive nobles, then he would naturally subject them to harsh punishment. The question lies in whether or not he is being too harsh."
"I see," Silky said, stroking her chin.
"What are you doing?"
"This is what you do whenever you think so I thought it might help."
My eye twitched.
"It annoys you? Really?"
"I'm not one hundred percent sure yet," I admitted. "But I can tell you that I don't particularly care for being imitated. Especially by a cheeky seventeen year old."
She feigned offense. "I am not cheeky."
I smirked a bit. "Right."
Right then I heard some shifting amongst the rubble to my right. At first I didn't think anything of it, but then there was a twist in my gut, I felt a gaze filled with murderous intent. The rubble shifted again suddenly and I pushed Silky behind me and caught the blade out of the air as it came down at my face.
My hand bled, but I snapped the sword in half before I dropped it and let my hand heal.
"Is there a reason?" I asked the brown cloaked figure in front of me.
They turned and started running. And they were fast.
"Silky," I said. "Turn invisible and follow."
She vanished and I took a step forward.
I watched the figure getting further and further away.
I tensed all the muscles in my leg, and when I pushed off, the ground behind me cracked. I caught up to them on the first step.
They whipped around just in time to watch my fist smash their face.
They fell to the ground, out cold. I reached down to remove their hood, but then I heard the sound of metal sliding on metal. A sword being pulled from the sheath.
I back-stepped just in time to avoid getting my head chopped off.
I looked up and saw another brown cloaked figure leaping across the rooftops into the distance.
I was about to chase them when someone said, "don't move!"
I looked down at the street and saw two more brown cloaks holding a family hostage.
I jumped over to them, knocking the captors down and crushing their throats at the same time. I leapt up onto the rooftops and scanned the rest of the city.
"Gone," I thought out loud.
I looked around at my immediate surroundings. It seemed that when I caught the first cloak, I had leapt into an inhabited area of the city.
I jumped down onto the street and snapped my fingers, immediately engulfing the two corpses in flames.
The people looked at me with a mixture of fear and awe.
I decided that this was a good place to start asking questions.
"Can anyone here tell me about your king?" I asked. While I was waiting for an answer, I looked at the buildings and saw that these were not the same at all. These were in better condition structurally speaking, but the architecture itself was much cheaper.
"King Aeterna is good to us," one woman said.
"He cared for us, like his father," a man said.
"Yes," another woman agreed. "Not like the tyrant usurper of a regent."
"King Aeterna is on his way!" A voice called out in the distance.
"See?" Another man said. "The King visits us. He even moved his castle back to where his father had it, in the center of the common folk's district."
The picture they painted of the king was much different than the picture the other group had painted earlier.
"What is going on?" A new voice asked.
The bodies crackled. The people were silent.
I turned to see who had spoken and found myself face to face with a young man I would say was in his early twenties. He wore regal, but casual clothing and had a long sword on his back. His eyes burned the color of hot coals. His complexion was fair with red hair and a smattering of freckles across his nose.
"What is going on?" He asked again, this time a little more forcefully. The flame I saw in his eyes was a powerful one, one I wasn't sure I wanted to fool with.
"This man protected us from some unknown assailants, my lord," one of the people said.
"Is that true?" He asked me.
"I'm not sure why you would believe a random stranger, but yes."
He relaxed a bit. "Well, stranger," he began. "I am Aeterna, King of Eternal Flame, ruler of this land. What is your name?"
"I wish I could tell you, but I cannot recall," I explained. "Many call me Traveler, however some call me Scribe."
He didn't really react to anything. "Very well, Traveler," he said. "Would you care to explain everything that has transpired here?"