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The next morning we made a stop at Avaloria. Every single soldier, including the guards along the frontiers, was engaged in war. In that country I was a wanted man, so they wouldn't let me through normally, but we didn't find any obstacles. We stopped at Lunim's house, one of the few safe places that could have accommodated us. Now the fronts on which to fight were three: The battle against the army of Avaloria, against Meta and against the king. From the first we would come to know the outcome only when it was over. We had a 10,000 warriors advantage, and Shiitia had the best technology on the continent. I felt pretty confident. And then with them there was Hausara, a man at least twice as strong as me. The second battle was against the king, I don't know how strong he could have been, but I could hardly lose. Of the three, I was more afraid of the one against Meta. He had managed to win alone against eight trained warriors, among which there was Lunim. In this second battle there were fifteen, almost twice as many of the first, but knowing the fate of the previous...
The time to think was short, so we started in less than an hour. I accompanied my men following the feelings of Lunim, which led us to the remote place he had indicated the day before.
«The place is this, the same one I had sensed. Meta should be a hundred meters ahead, I feel it.» Said Lunim. A cursed aura enveloped the atmosphere.
At that moment an extreme abundance of negative feelings pervaded my mind.
«Lunim, are you sure you don't need my help? We would kill him for sure if I help you» I said.
Lunim laid his hand on my chest, smiling at me.
«Goldora, my friend. You heard your sister's will, didn't you? You must hurry to come back to her. The first step to stopping the war is to kill the king. By killing him, even if we lose the battle on the Cromelian front, the war would still be stopped. You have the most important task, and if we want to say even the simplest. You've seen how dangerous Meta is... I'm not hiding from you that I am terrified of dying, and it probably will be, but I'm taking that bastard to hell with me. If you died, neither I nor Eimin would ever forgive you.» Said Lunim. I didn't know what to say. No word came out of my mouth. He reached out his hand, as if to hold it, looking at me in my watery eyes with his watery eyes.
«We have passed many, Goldora... my friend. As I have told you, I would have been willing to give my life for you and Eimin, because it was you who gave it to me. I promise you that I will not die, we will live forever, Goldora!»
I shake hands with Lunim and we hug for a whole minute.
«We will live forever, Lunim!» I said, unable to hold back my tears. Then I mounted my horse and went to the king's palace.
♦️
Point of view - Lunim
It is useless to hide that I was afraid at the time. But my life had finally taken a meaning, not only for Goldora and Eimin, but also for Aostra.
My arm was raised to the sky, and I held my sword.
«Brave fighters. Heroes. For the courage to come here, you have already given meaning to your lives. Living forever does not mean possessing mind and body for infinity, but being remembered by our posterity. Take up your weapons, and be ready to live until humanity dies! Take up arms and fight!» I cried. We were all terrified, but there would be no greater reward than to live forever.
With the horses we ran a hundred meters forward, until we found a place, really isolated, where you could see only a port and some abandoned shack, at that moment appeared a flaming column, from which came out Meta. We, terrified, stood on defensive mode, ready to fight.
«Goldora is not here with you? Yet I was sure that I had branded him too... You noticed, didn't you, Lunim?» He said. I answered him, watching his moves.
«So is that brand your work? I had understood it... I was tired, but I was aware of your position, did you do it to let us came here by making us believe that we could win?» I asked him, even though the answer was obvious.
«Yes, exactly! You understood my plan. Too bad you have snacked like a hungry fish! Without your blond friend you make things easier! First I will get rid of you, then it will be him!» He finished.
I decided to go straight for him, holding my sword firmly, and tried to hit him several times, but he dodged every shot. He moved back, and four other members of the League came to fight him. We were many more, but going all together was difficult, we would have risked to hit ourselves, alternating men we could get results. The four fought with swords, being careful not to receive any flame. Meta noticed it, then threw a chain, twisting it around one of the men's neck, but another was able to break it with his own sword, without hurting the other. At that point, the two chains, separated, were composed into one larger, which was squeezed around the two bodies, cutting off their torso. The other two, meanwhile, tried to fight, but Meta could block each of their shots simply with his hand. Then he took the ankle of one of them, a chain came out from the hand of the sorcerer piercing the man's body from the inside, killing him. The other one backed away, but Meta caught him. So I approached, intent on saving him, with the sword struck his bust, but the blade was rejected, it seemed to have hit a marble surface. He ignited the body of the one I was trying to save and, taking my sword, he ignited it, but I was fast enough to leave it and retract again. This time, however, I failed. He came close to me, but I was able to block his wrists. For a moment I saw him scared, so I decided not to let him go. He seemed to do everything to get free.
«Attack!» I shouted at the others. Four of them rushed at the enemy. Meta began to fire flames and chains at the highest possible rate, in completely random places. The four warriors managed to pierce his stomach at least five times. At the sixth Meta managed to free a hand, took the blade and burned it, reducing to ashes the one who had stabbed him, but I did not let go of the grip. With his free hand he threw a chain that touched my ear, I grabbed it and tried to stick his head. He, however, blocked it with his hands, letting himself be pierced, and set fire to it, before the fire could reach me, Claude threw his sword breaking the chain. In a state of confusion, Meta let himself be taken by the other wirst, this time Claude threw his javelin into the eye of the sorcerer, who could not defend himself. He started to scream loud, loud, loud, but I didn't feel sorry for a being so despicable that had ruined the lives of too many people. Now he was still, but the mark's feeling began to become more present, and my strength was not enough to hold his wrists. So he got rid of me and the tip of Claude's javelin: He threw another chain. The right side of my chest was pierced, and I fell to the ground. I began to lose my breath, and my sight was clouded.
♦️
«Lunim, can you say something to Goldora? I don't want him to die.» Eimin was crying, and Goldora had just got on the horse.
Seeing them fighting didn't make me feel good. Goldora had dedicated all his strength to make his sister's future a paradise, and he was really upset when he found out that it was all for nothing, that Eimin didn't want this.
«You know how he is. There's no word that can convince him. He tries to hide it, but he still believes that you deserve a better future. He never told you, but he went to war for you many years ago, to buy bread and water. He is angry with his parents because they left you alone, he didn't care about himself. You are much more important to him than you think. All his actions are dictated by his love for you.» I replied. Goldora had not yet told Eimin everything she had done. I decided to do it myself.
«Lunim, so you are sure he won't die?» She asked me trying to calm down.
«Goldora will not die. He is strong, he has endured much worse. However, this may be the last time we speak. Eimin, I have something important to tell you. When Goldora told me that he wanted to give you a future, I decided to help him before he asked. That's because I care about you; besides Goldora, you're the only person I love from the bottom of my heart. But my love for you was never platonic. I have loved you for a long time, Eimin, and I continue to do so. But the desire to have you was something I would never fulfill. I was afraid that once we were together, things wouldn't work, and that I would throw away the relationship with you and your brother. The fear of losing you was greater than the desire to have you. I'm sorry if I tell you this now, but I'm not sure that there will be a tomorrow for me.»
At that moment I felt no emotion, happiness, shame... Nothing. Eimin took my hand with both of her, which barely contained it.
«Lunim, to tell the truth, for me it was not the same. I have always been blinded by the desire to be with my brother, and I have never seen anything in any other man. You are opening my mind. Goldora wants me to be a mother? If I can choose, I want my children to have the colour of your eyes, Lunim.»
♦️
I am an only child and, unlike my friends, my parents never abandoned me. I was born in Avaloria, already at a young age I did not like the political situation of the nation. The four fractions were always in perpetual struggle among themselves, it was clear that the king was an incompetent. I had no friends so many years ago, the only thing I did to amuse myself was to go to the library to read some books belonging to an ancient civilization. One day, however, at the age of fifteen, I met a young Goldora in the same library. Before his parents disappeared, he would have wanted Eimin to be good at both reading and writing, to guarantee a future for herself, but there was no solution after the event. At that time I was thirteen, Eimin five; of course, I did not fall in love with her at the time. I started talking to his brother, he told me that he did not usually come to the library, he preferred sports activities, in fact I noticed an unusual robustness in his body. When I came out of the library, I decided to follow them, and Goldora made me try his training, which he did once a day. I was exhausted when we had not even reached the middle. I remember that at the time he did stupid things to make Eimin laugh. Her smile, for him, was more than anything. We continued to meet, I never approached him in the world of literature, not that I cared. He was the one who opened my eyes, he was the one who made me understand that the world is not only composed by letters and numbers, but also by friendship and fun. We formed a strong bond, he also did not have many friends. If I hadn't known him well, he would have seemed disliked by me. But, in reality, he is a person with a golden heart. When his parents disappeared I noticed a change in his character, he wanted to prove himself strong and impose himself on others. He told me that he was doing it for Eimin, he wanted to look like an unshakable pillar, so she would never have feared if she had been by his side, and she still is. If I lived a happy life, I owe it mostly to that fool who will rule Avaloria... Or rather, Nustia.