Frey struggled to get free, his hands were tightly bound behind his back with some rope, his legs too, and he was lying in what felt like the corner of a room.
He tried to call out for help, for anyone, especially for Lu, the spirit that was supposed to be his best friend, but the gag in his mouth stopped him from speaking any more than muffled words.
"Be quiet already!" one of Hodwan's followers went up to him and kicked Frey's stomach, causing him to go silent within moments, right after he grunted in pain.
"If it wasn't for our orders then you'd be in a much worse state already, so shut up while I'm still in a good mood." he threatened as he walked back to the other side of the room.
Tears welled up in Frey's eyes, he wanted to hold them back, but he just couldn't.
He quietly began to sob, he ran away from Aventia, from Agnes and Cykrus without saying a thing, just so he could get his revenge on Hodwan, but here he was, defeated, humiliated, and powerless to free himself.
Casting a spell to cut the ropes that restrained him was one of the first things he attempted in order to break free, but after various failed attempts, he despaired.
He was unable to conjure up a single one, he was extremely reliant on seeing the particles that were the base of his spells...
They didn't know where he went, they would never come for him, never rescue him.
The urge to tell them 'Sorry' kept growing stronger, but no amount of apologising could fix this situation.
His sight was already pitch black from the blindfold, but as he despaired, his mind closed itself off, leaving him behind with nothing more than all those bad thoughts that fuelled his fear and anxiety.
He tuned out the conversation Hodwan's followers held, the noises the beast-like horse made... before he knew it, the only thing left was his sobbing.
The silence was oddly comforting, offering him some peace of mind, and allowing him to calm down again.
His breathing slowed, returning to a normal and steady pace.
His tears slowly dried, but even then, the external noise did not return.
Frey became confused, slightly unsettled at the unusual condition of his.
It felt like his surroundings were barren, an empty plane of darkness, nothing as far as the eye could see, but soon enough he realised that he wasn't alone in this place.
It wasn't humans or any kind of living creature for that matter, but more like an extremely small existence that felt somewhat insignificant.
He didn't see this thing; it was like an unconscious connection that he had with it.
Frey tried to reach out to it, with bated breath he came closer and closer, until both of his hands clasped it, holding it tightly, but carefully.
Whatever he had clasped felt warm and friendly, he focused on it, and then his horizon broadened.
The darkness that constricted his mind expanded by leaps and bounds, hundreds of the same aura appeared all around him.
He finally understood.
The unknown he held onto became clear, it was an earth particle, one of the many that surrounded him.
Frey's brain began to tingle, a wonderful feeling that lasted for a short while.
His understanding of magic grew deeper, the elements weren't just a means to an end, they were more than just a resource for spells, they were an integral part of the world.
Their surroundings created them naturally, and they would in turn assist the environment in flourishing.
Once the tingling ceased, a light tremor appeared next to Frey, sharp spikes drove through the ropes that bound him, and ruptured them in moments.
He jumped up and removed the blindfold, his vision returned, he saw that he was standing in the corner of a shabby and run down hut, a sight that brought back memories, but this one was bigger in size, obviously not the same building.
One of Hodwan's soldiers spat out the liquid he was drinking and got up from his seat to draw his hidden knife, "What the-?!" he shouted, alerting both the other follower, as well as Hodwan's horse.
"Fmfmp mmpmfpmp!" Frey shouted, albeit still gagged, he rolled his eyes and ripped it off, "Stand back!" he repeated himself.
"Or what? Kid, you don't have what it takes to kill." the first follower flashed his teeth as he brandished his knife.
Frey gritted his teeth, "Don't blame me for what happens next!" he waved his hands, some spikes penetrated the floorboards of the hut, and came straight for the two followers.
The first evaded in time, his forehead covered in sweat, "This kid is serious!" he mumbled, but his thoughts were interrupted by the anguished scream of his ally.
The second wasn't quick enough, the spike ran through the thigh of his left leg, the tip sticking out on the other end.
Blood streamed down the earthen spike, the second follower's face paled, he wanted to pull his leg out, but it only made the pain worse, it felt like there was more than just a single spike in the flesh of his leg, like the barb of a fishing hook, preventing him from pulling out.
"I don't want to hurt you... I am only after Hodwan!" Frey took a step forward.
"That's exactly why we can't let you leave!" the first roared and rushed at Frey, his feet moved quickly and produced practically no sound as he stepped on the floorboards.
He twisted his body to unnatural degrees to narrowly avoid some spikes, not intending to slow down in the least.
The knife appeared in between Frey's brows, but that was also where its movement ended...
Hodwan's follower gasped as his knife's blade snapped apart, leaving him with just the handle, while the tip flew off into the wall of the hut.
"Lu!" Frey happily called out; his mood improved greatly.
Lu had taken the shape of the monkey, slanting off of Frey's shoulder, his arm still outstretched from swatting away the knife.
"You are my guardian angel! Always appearing in the nick of time!" Frey smiled at his friend.
The thoughts that weighed him down had already become a thing of the past.
Lu jumped off Frey's shoulder, he swung his fist while travelling through the air, then smacked the man in front of them square in the face.
Frey was left gawking; the man had been flung to the ground from just one punch, his best friend seemed to hold great powers beneath the surface of the small monkey form he took.
The floorboards broke apart upon impact, splinters of wood shot all around the room.
The second follower's face became even more distraught, not only was he unable to move, but the only person he could rely on was absolutely destroyed in seconds.
Even the pain he felt from the spike within his body vanished for some moments.
"I give up! You can leave! I won't stop you!" he pleaded as cold sweat ran down his back.
Frey observed as Lu once again disappeared into thin air, then turned his attention to the man and merely nodded.
The spike receded, exiting the man's leg, after which he turned around to flee, limping all the way to the exit of the hut, but no further.
A loud chomp rang through the hut, the fleeing follower fell to the ground, all that remained of him was a headless corpse.
The horse munched; cracks came from the object it was chewing on, blood splattered out from the gaps in its teeth and onto the ground.
Frey gagged, this wasn't the worst he had seen, but it was more than enough to cause his stomach to turn.
Hodwan's steed gulped audibly, its meal disappeared into its belly, then it turned towards Frey.
The runes on its body began to glow, and it charged right at him.
Blood still drooled out of its mouth, underlining the deranged mind of the beast.
Frey's complexion became dark, "Trip!" he shouted.
And the horse obeyed, a single misplaced hoof was enough to make the monstrous creature fall, a thin and sharp spike met the horse half-way, impaling its neck.
The steed did not die on the spot, even though it was on the brink of death, it struggled, attempted to stand up even, but another spike rammed into its abdomen, then another, and another, until the beast's movement ceased, and the runes on its body became dim again, until they looked like regular engravings.
Frey exhaled loudly, his face was full of scorn and regret, he left the hut without sparing the mutilated corpse of the horse nor the other follower of Hodwan a second glance.
… …
Hodwan was reaching out to the defeated Agnes using his only remaining hand, his smile was spine-chilling, but he halted midway through his action, as he heard someone approaching.
The rune on the back of his hand lit up, and unleashed a wave of fire, much smaller than the one he used during his battle.
A tree absorbed the brunt of the attack, being annihilated in the approaching person's stead.
"Woah! Woah! We don't mean no harm!" Ronny stepped out from behind a tree, followed by Vince and Bobby.
The three of them were shaking in their boots, extremely terrified and walking with their hands above their head, signalling their surrender.
Hodwan retracted his hand and stood back up, to size up the three newcomers.
"Run… You don't stand a chance…" Agnes looked at them with pity, they had just delivered themselves to their deaths.
"As much as we'd like to Ma'am, we can't…" Vince forced a smile.
"And who are you three supposed to be? Some knights in shining armour?" Hodwan chuckled, the three looked like complete pushovers.
"Uh, no… actually… we are…" Bobby started to speak, "…A distraction…" a different voice finished his sentence.
Hodwan's body moved on instinct, he jumped to his right, but a large chunk of his upper body was blown away by a spell he was unable to feel or see coming.
"Not bad, you evaded that. Coming in person was the right call…" a familiar voice spoke, causing Agnes to yelp in surprise, "My lord!"
"Why are you here? What about the capital?" Agnes had no energy left to stand or move, but even now she only worried about things besides herself.
Cykrus approached her and Hodwan, a lump of rock was floating by his side, "Losing you and Frey is the same as losing Aventia, besides, we have an ally that is protecting our home in my stead at this moment." he spoke calmly.
Agnes sighed in relief.
"Uhm… are we allowed to leave now… Sir?" Vince cut in from the sidelines, his voice trembled.
Cykrus nodded at them, after which the trio sprinted away from this place.
In the meantime, Hodwan had regained his bearings, his wound was grave, but he hadn't died yet.
"Hah… Even the dogs' owner got lured out all the way here… how lucky! After today, people will remember me as a genius that took down Aventia all on his own, haha!" Hodwan laughed, and Cykrus joined him in doing so.
Hearing this Hodwan stopped, then looked a tad bit annoyed, "What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing much, I am just happy about ridding my lands of a parasite whose life should have ended long ago. Don't worry, I will thank the Ironhoofs for sending you here soon enough, you won't be the only one going to the afterlife…" Cykrus answered.
"You're just like that bitch! Looking down on me until it all falls onto your head!" Hodwan roared, the runes all across his body lit up one more time, his body began to shrivel up, like he was aging years within seconds.
He burst forth with a domineering aura, countless fire particles suddenly littered the air, his hand grasped at Agnes' clothes' collar, then he raised her up into the air.
All of the runes on his body lost their lustre, but this was just the start of his display of power…
Every single fire particle that had been produced started to orbit around him, before gathering at his fingertips, almost drowning Agnes with the sheer number.
She paled and gasped, "Rank two?!"
"Cykrus Aventia! Let me show you that you are not as invincible as you think you are!" Hodwan shouted with fervour.
"WAIT!" Cykrus' mind went blank at the thought of losing Agnes, his hand reached out towards her, but it was too late for him to act…
The particles around Agnes' neck swelled, like they were about to detonate-
"STOOOOOP!" a young voice burst out from behind Hodwan, his smile grew wider as he recognised it... everyone he wanted to kill had gathered in one place.
Frey's voice had already been proven to be ineffective on him from their previous interactions, this time, however, even he felt compelled to obey...
Hodwan felt the veins on his forehead and neck bulge, his teeth were clenched, all of his muscles were working at one hundred percent, he felt like he was trying to push against an impossibly heavy object, which required his everything, just to continue detonating the particles.
'That child! He needs to die!' he thought to himself, right after killing the white-haired woman he would have to go next!
Frey caused a spike to emerge from the ground, Hodwan felt it coming, it wasn't fast, it had the same speed as the ones he evaded in their fight...
It was sharp, yes, but Hodwan had survived situations that were a lot more deadly...
The spike came close, Hodwan would dodge it without any effort, like he always did...
He couldn't move... why couldn't he move?
The voice...?
No! Impossible!
Frey was merely rank one, while he had achieved rank two!
This situation was unthinkable, unfeasible, just plainly ridiculous!
"NO! The great ME can't be stopped here! I can't allow it! I still have to repay everyone! All of them!"
"DON'T YOU DARE! LITTLE DEMONNN-"
The sharp tip of the rock pierced his head, silencing the man at once.
His eyes became glassy, and his body lost all strength, the only thing that kept his body upright was the spike embedded in his head.
Agnes fell to the ground as his grasp loosened, the particles slowly became calm again, and dispersed over time.
Cykrus snapped out of his stupor and ran up to Agnes, he helped her get up, then embraced her.
His heartbeat was just as fast as hers, his fingers trembled as he held onto her.
"You idiot... why would you leave on your own... what would I have done, had you..." Cykrus whispered, he was still afraid that he would lose her if he let go now.
Agnes patted his back, "I'm sorry, but it's alright, we are alright." she sighed and returned his hug.
Frey quietly stepped closer to the two, his expression was apologetic, timid and fearful.
He lowered his head and avoided the two's eyes.
"Frey." Cykrus spoke, looking down to his disciple.
"Cykrus, don't-" Agnes wanted to stop him, but he looked her into the eyes shortly, causing her to go quiet.
"Frey. You did great." he continued.
Frey was shocked, his gaze wandered up to meet his lord's, Agnes was too, but she didn't show it.
"You rooted out the greatest Ironhoof presence of our lands, not just that, but a rank two mage on top, all while being rank one, and to be honest... rather unexperienced."
"The hope I held towards you was faint, very much so. I was angry at you, while you did nothing but your best to improve. I made backup plans for our inevitable loss instead of dedicating my time to training you. I was wrong."
"Your disappearance infuriated me, I thought that you were overestimating yourself after having gained access to spells, that you had become blind to reality, but you truly are our hope."
"This ability of yours, your voice... many will consider you a spawn of evil that needs to be eradicated, but I see your humanity, your potential."
"From now on, truly, you will be my disciple, not just in name, but I will impart my everything to you." Cykrus concluded, he looked at Frey and saw an innocent and overwhelmed boy.
Hodwan's death had convinced him, if there was anyone that could represent Aventia in His Majesty's competition, then it would be Frey.
Fate must have led the boy to him, nothing else could explain the sheer stroke of luck they experienced by finding him.
"Thank you! And I'm sorry!" Frey bowed to the two, tears of joy ran down his cheeks.
"Let's go back to the capital now." Agnes had enough excitement for this week.
"Before that... there is something I need to do." Frey wiped away his tears.
... ...
Agnes, Cykrus, and Frey waltzed through the forest, they soon arrived at Pinestop, causing yet another commotion.
Agnes had been able to walk on her own again, and Cykrus was carrying something that was covered in a camouflaged robe in his arms.
Seeing Frey, the young village girl that had come to him for help approached with hurried steps, "My fiancé, did you find him?!"
Frey flashed a pained expression.
"I am sorry miss, but he lost his life while engaging the criminal that all of Aventia had been hunting for... you have my condolences." Cykrus explained.
The girl looked to him with disbelief, tears welled up in her eyes, her family, and the fiancé's emerged from the crowd with sorrowful gazes, taking the body from Cykrus' hands into their own.
"Why-?! Why didn't you save him?!" the girl burst out, but the other villagers, and her family covered her mouth.
"Please forgive her rudeness Lord Aventia." Mabel appeared, at the mention of his name and title the people around her gasped.
She nodded at Frey before returning her attention to Cykrus.
"I haven't been to Pinestop in many years, I am surprised you recognise me." he answered.
"Mhm, you bear a striking resemblance to your father."
"You knew my father?"
"Yes, when you are as old as me you usually know a lot of people, or well, knew."
"Thank you for returning the boy's body." Mabel continued.
"No, I am sorry that we couldn't do any more." Cykrus lowered his head, causing the crowd to erupt with astonishment once more.
"Don't lower your head my lord. You are not at fault. The boy died an honourable death, protecting our little town with his life, we shall remember him forever." she said in turn.
"...Do forgive us, but we have to return to the capital." Agnes interrupted them.
Cykrus nodded, "Of course, we won't take any more of your time." Mabel smiled at them and wished them farewell.
They went to get their horses from the local stable then rode off, as they arrived at the edge of the town, Frey spotted three familiar figures hiding among the trees.
"You don't have anywhere else to go, why don't you come with us?" he asked.
The three jolted upon being spoken to, "We can...? But-" Vince said with apprehension, he knew they were no more than hoodlums without any education or manners.
"They'll need some appropriate lessons, but I will allow them to become your retainers." Cykrus agreed, someone who could keep an eye on Frey in his stead was a welcome addition, and they had already proven their willpower by daring to stand against Hodwan, even if it only was for a short time.
Thus, the six of them departed, making their way to the capital.