The ride back to Elaris was heavy with silence, broken only by the clopping of hooves and the rustling of leaves in the morning breeze. Kai and Lia sat side by side in the carriage, but for once, neither had much to say. Both were lost in their own thoughts, weighed down by the duel they had witnessed between Ronan Asher and Dorian Fronston. The memory of their power and speed went through Kai's mind, a reminder of how far away from the world of noble bloodlines and elite cultivation was.
Eldrin glanced at Aurelia, something was amiss in his usually animated friend. There was a sadness in Aurelia's heart; she was expecting that this kind of an exhibition would inspire them a little, but it actually seemed to have cast darkness over doubt.
As they walked into the village, Lia finally said something, her voice still weak and indecisive. "They were. incredible, weren't they?" She glanced at Kai, hoping that he would provide some bit of hope to brighten up things.
Kai nodded and looked down at his hands. His expression was miles away. "Yeah… they were." A bit of determination flared up in his eyes, only to be snuffed out once again.
When they got to Elaris, Kai hardly looked up to wave goodbye to Lia before he left for home, his head bowed in thought. Lia too walked beside her mother, her usual cheeriness dimmed by the new awareness of her limitations. Aurelia placed a reassuring arm around her shoulders, but Lia didn't meet her gaze.
Inside the house, Mira sat with her warm smile, waiting for him. "Welcome back, Kai!" she called cheerfully with a shining eye that told the world she was so glad to see her son return home. But as she glanced at the change in his mood, her smile was quickly erased.
"Kai? Is everything okay?" she asked softly with a concern that made her voice gentle.
Kai tried to smile, but even that was beyond him. "It's… nothing, really," he said softly and disappeared into his room. Mira stood there watching him go, her heart aching with worry. She felt something was off in him, but she knew better than to prod too hard when he was like this.
Giving him his space, Mira waited till she was fairly sure he was asleep and got up, left the cottage and began making her way to Aurelia's. The evening in Elaris was a quiet night, the air was made alive with crickets' sound, softening against that tension building inside her chest.
Aurelia and Eldrin were waiting for her inside. They had thoughtful-looking faces, talking through how things played out in Havenbrook.
"It's like seeing the duel instilled some kind of doubts within them," Aurelia said, a furrowed brow giving way to her frown. "Both of them are so focused, but seeing the noble heirs' capabilities well… reality has a way of jolting the confidence from one's hands."
Mira's expression softened in understanding. She had hoped that Kai would find his own strengths at his own time, but he had been flung into a world he wasn't ready to face yet.
Eldrin nodded, folding his arms across his chest. "They are young. There is much time still, but we cannot ignore their feelings. For them, this would have to be a world that's just too alien. Nobles have cultivation years of experience and lineage to give them strength-that is, of course, the very things Kai and Lia don't have."
Mira took a deep breath, her eyes looking back at her house. She knew that Kai was under the weight of his inheritance, but she thought that he would grow in time. What was scarier, though, was how secure he was in this world of cultivators and nobles. "We have to help him stay motivated but cautiously."
Eldrin glanced over at Mira, relaxing a little. "I went to speak with the old man in Havenbrook. Told him to keep an eye on Kai when the boy finally heads to the Academy. Thought it'd be a good idea to have someone there who knew what he was carrying."
Mira's eyes blinked in surprise, a slight grin on her face as she opened her mouth. "The old man still at Havenbrook?" she asked, her voice filled with laughter and relief. "I thought he'd moved on by now."
"Oh well, seems the old fellow is still lingering," Eldrin said with a tone light as a jest. "Keeps to himself but still so very vigilant. When I spoke to him about Kai, he was very prompt in volunteering assistance."
And suddenly their conversation was cut short by a faint, almost imperceptible pulse which seemed to emanate from distance. All three turned, and expressions changed to alarm and curiosity. Something filled the air with a powerful energy, ancient and unmistakable. They exchanged a knowing glance then vanished in a blur, only to reappear instantly within Kai's room. Shortly after, one of the other trusted elders, Garrick, arrived, his face every bit as filled with surprise as theirs.
Kai slept quietly, unaware of their existence there. But in the pocket of his chest, a gentle, pulsing light was there, beating in sync to the cadence of his heart. It was a pendant-a pendant he'd bought from the market in Havenbrook. Soft but ancient in aura, it poured outward from him.
Eldrin's eyes went wide in stunned awe. "Is that....?" he breathed his word heavy with reverence and doubt.
Aurelia nodded; a small, satisfied smile crossed her face as though this moment had been awaited for far too long. "It is. Kai found it at the market-by pure chance, or fate."
Garrick let out a low whistle. "After all these years, we searched and searched, and here it pops up-no, returns to….him" He looked down at Kai, his face a mix of awe and respect. "It is as if the pendant had been waiting all along."
There was Mira, her eyes refocusing through the tears upon the shine of the pendant. Flooded with memories, fragments of her past, and the promise to herself, she reached out, touching the pendant as her hand shook, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Your Majesty…"
A silent awe filled the room as each looked at Kai, who sat unmindful of them being there. The glow pulsed softly, reminding everyone in that room of the heritage he did not know and of power yet to awake inside of him. To Mira, it was like it guided him along a path that he had yet to understand.
With a quiet resolve, Aurelia laid a touch upon Mira's shoulder, soft and gentle. "This pendant chose him, Mira; its light heralds him to be awakened now as much as ever; he must prepare. He remains protected this way as well, but he needs soon to move on for himself."
Eldrin's eyes softened as he looked at Mira. "We'll stand by him, Mira. No matter the road he takes, he won't walk it alone."
The silence that followed was full of promise. Standing side by side in Kai's bedroom, their faces were replete with a mix of respect, pride, and muted resolve. Each knew it was just the start, as Kai's destiny unfolded now that the pendant had returned: there was no going back.
They could only wish that when the time came to bear the weight of that lineage, Kai would be prepared.