Elias moved on from the square as he headed back to his home. A home he shared with his mentor and the closest person he'd ever had to a father.
As he moved he made sure to wave and smile at the village-folk he passed. It was the mix of people that made the Empire of Organon unique, each culture that lived within its villages, towns and cities contributed to a multi-cultural society that was unheard of outside of the Empires territories.
He saw an elven family arrange ceremonial offerings at a nearby table, their melodic laughter filling the air. He saw a beast-kin merchant with a thick furry mane set out her various wares for a stall to accompany the festivities that evening—it mainly consisted of handmade jewelry. Finally, he spotted an array of human children dashing across the dirt paths as they played their own games.
His mind moved away from the festival as he approached his home, where Jacob awaited. His thoughts shifted entirely to the lack of herbs he'd gathered and the ominous crimson; is hand moved to his chest reflexively.
"What am I gonna tell him?" he muttered.
He reached the small house at the edge of the village, just past the blacksmiths. The house was made of timber with slate tiles for the roof, and it had a couple of small windows with fabric curtains drawn open. As he stepped inside, he glanced at the cluttered shelves adorned with relics and tattered books from Jacob's previous life, each telling its own story. The familiar smell of old parchment and dried herbs laced his nostrils.
He saw Jacob sat in the living room of their home, on a small wooden chair as he worked with a mortar and pestle on the messy table in front of him. Jacob was a tall, well-built man with thick untamed grey hair covering his shoulders and face. He had a thick claw-shaped scar on his right cheek and deep lines set into his forehead. He looked up as Elias entered, his deep brown eyes piercing into him as if he was about to read him like a book.
"Took your time today, didn't you?" Jacob said, his tone a mix of playful teasing and curiosity, his eyes lingering on him.
Elias immediately felt his stomach turn, and his mind began to race for an excuse for the lack of herbs—the last time he'd come back empty-handed, he'd ended up helping Olren, the stable master muck out the stables. "I…uh—" he began.
Jacobs eyes moved from his own, straight down to his chest; his eyes widened.
They both paused before Jacob broke the silence, "Well lad. At least you're back," Jacob's gaze returned to his eyes, "Now, come give me a hand," he said before letting the silence settle in as Elias joined Jacob in preparing the herbs.
"It's never that easy…" he thought, "Why did he look at my chest?"
As they worked, the memory of his mother, the attack, and the pull of the vision stayed with him, his thoughts constantly returning to the now-fresh memories. A feeling of cold and isolation began to fill him, and he shivered.
"Jacob…" He said.
"Yeah? What's on yer mind?" Jacob responded.
"I—I didn't get the herbs… I didn't get anything," he began as he watched Jacobs expression for a hint of anger or disappointment—he saw nothing and continued, "Something happened, it was… it wasn't right? I saw her… I saw mum."
He looked as Jacob's eyes softened, but, he didn't speak. He gritted his teeth—"I have to tell him. Maybe he can tell me what's going on?"—he recounted his encounter in the clearing, and as he spoke, he felt tears fall down his face.
Jacob's expression remaining neutral, betrayed only by the softness in his eyes.
Once he had finished telling Jacob, they both sat silently for a while before Jacob put a heavy hand on his shoulder, "Elias, my boy. Today is a difficult day. For you, for your lady friend and for a number of others in the village," he felt Jacob squeeze his shoulder tightly.
"It was a mistake for me to send you out today, take a break," Jacob continued as he waved his other hand over the table in front of them, "I'll do the rest. You focus on the festival and take your mind off things. You've spent the last few years training with me to do more than most dream of doing, to fight back. You awaken in six months, and it's finally going to be a reality."
Jacob's hand drew back from him and he watched as Jacob stood and stepped a few paces towards a magnificent engraved sword that hung on the wall. Jacob's hand reached slightly towards it, before stopping as he turned back to face him, "Maybe it's time to teach you about the System. Properly."
His mouth opened wide, the dry tears on his face met with shock; Jacob had spent years avoiding the System, every time he'd asked, it was met with a 'Maybe next year, lad' or, 'You'll find out soon enough'.
"Go on then, Elias, get." Jacob finished as he gestured for him to move.
He snapped his mouth shut and stood; it had felt good to tell Jacob, and he'd reacted differently than he'd expected. He still had no answers, but the old man linking what he'd said to the System meant that maybe he would know more then. The unease he felt hadn't faded, but having someone else know what had happened helped and Jacob was right, he could do with some sleep.
-break-
Later that day, as evening and the festival approached, the village was alive with sounds of festivity. The final preparations were almost finished and the aroma of cooked meats and freshly baked goods made his stomach growl.
Elias had made his way back to the square, a small sense of excitement overtaking the unease. Tonight's festival was a way to honour the events of five years ago, and especially to honour those who gave their lives defending not only Haven's Point, but other villages and towns that had suffered an Aberration attack. Each affected location would raise the red and gold banners of the Empire as a symbol of remembrance; and the importance of adventurers to the Empire.
Aberrations were creatures twisted by dark forces that few in the outer villages could explain. They had constantly threatened small borderland settlements like Haven's Point; where adventurers were few and far between.
The Empire couldn't attract enough and not enough were willing in the first place to support its rapid expansion—he knew why; who would want to face Aberrations and risk their lives on a daily basis? Apart from himself. He had his reasons.
Under King Valus, the current ruler of the Empire, these festivals were encouraged and even supported financially; it was a relatively cheap way to boost morale and reinforce unity. The heartlands of the Empire always enjoyed relative peace—protected by the Royal Defence division of the Adventurers. Haven's Point, however, was left to contract Adventurers, who were more of a reactionary measure, or wandering Adventurers who happened to be righteous enough to put themselves in harm's way for little to no reward.
He always thought of one adventurer he wanted to be like—Leroy Vance, the same adventurer who saved Haven's Point from the Aberration attack five years ago.
He decided to embrace the trail of thought as he helped the villagers around him with their final preparations.
He felt a sense of belonging within the Empire, despite the tragic loss of his mother. The Empire itself couldn't be held responsible; it did what it could. If the so called Gods couldn't stop the Aberrations, how could a single Empire.
The Empire of Organon had a long history and legacy of stability. It held two alliances with neighbouring nations; the Veldran Republic and the Ironstone Coalition. The alliances allowed the Empire to focus on its main goals, exploration and expansion. The Republic and Coalition provided most mundane goods and supplies whilst the Empire provided the majority of personnel on the borderlands—not the same ones as Haven's Point sat on, but the contested ones.
Adventurers were licensed by Adventurer guilds, who were also licensed and regulated by the Empire oversight council. They played a vital role in the Empire, deploying members to tackle everything from bandit raids to Aberration attacks to investigating newly discovered ruins and labyrinths—they were essentially the backbone of the whole Empire.
The Festival itself reminded him why he was training so hard and why he wanted to become an adventurer so badly—it was to be just like Leroy Vance, only better, stronger, more powerful. To protect those who couldn't defend themselves, this was his path; he just needed his innate ability to show him how he would achieve it.
He shook his head as the tangential thoughts faded and he returned to the festival before him. As he helped with the final tasks, he felt a foreboding sense of dread emerge from within his chest. He tried to shake it off but he found his eyes move to the animals around the village; the usually boisterous dogs clinging to their owners, birds huddled on rooftops, eyes transfixed outwards from the village.
He looked around and found that his unease was not shared by the others around him.
"You planning on working, or staring off into the sky all evening?" One of the women in the working party teased, handing him a bundle of linens to carry.
More playful jabs followed and eased his anxiety as he moved from group to group, trying to get everything finished.
As dusk began to fall, he found himself drawn to a familiar person. Tessa. She was near a food stall carrying a small plate filled with spiced meats and an assortment of miniature baked goods. He noticed her scanning the crowd, and when her eyes landed on him he watched as her eyes lit up and a smile fell across her face.
"So, you did decide to turn up?" She shouted as she moved with speed towards him.
"Don't think you'd have let me live it down if I didn't, Tess." He responded.
"Well, if you think you're done helping everyone but me. I am here." She said.
"Hmm," he sounded, smiling, "Maybe?"
A fist lightly hit into his arm and he flinched instinctively, "Ow! Tess!" he yapped.
"Haha! Well, serves you right, shouldn't joke around with a lady so much." She laughed.
"Well, you'd better be planning on sharing that," he said as he gestured to the plate of food.
She grinned wickedly and raised the index finger of her free hand to her chin, "If only I could find someone to share it with," she said as she scanned the crowd in the square, her eyes feigning shock as they landed on Elias, "Oh! I didn't see you there. Hungry?"
He rolled his eyes and snatched a warm pastry from the plate, "I'll need something if you still want that long-awaited dance!" he said, willing himself to remain casual, "Although, we could just watch?"
Tessa's eyes sparked with amusement as she quickly shot down his plan, "No way. You promised a night to remember; that means dance." She finished as she pointed a finger towards his chest.
They both laughed as they settled on a nearby table in the inner area of the Festival and adjacent to the area cleared for those wishing to dance.
He couldn't remember the last time he had danced or told anyone that he would be dancing other than in what he considered 'obvious jest', but knowing Tess, she had made some fuss about it to the others in the village.
Elias smiled to himself as they sat together. Despite the upcoming dance, being near Tess was a pleasant distraction from the unease he had been feeling and they settled into gentle conversation.
Only a few minutes passed before they heard music flow into the air around them. A soft, melodic tune. The crowd that had begun to gather quieted and a number of couples from around the square moved to the open area.
His heart jumped as anxiety rushed into his chest and butterflies into his stomach—other than when he was a kid, he had never actually danced with anyone.
He felt Tess's hand against his as she intertwined her fingers with his and pulled him to his feet, "It's time for that dance."
His cheeks flushed with heat, and he could feel his ears go red, but he complied. Tess's expectant smile drew him into the square.
"Don't make an idiot of yourself, Elias" he thought as he gulped hard.
He put his hands in Tessa's and waited for a moment before he felt pressure against his own and saw her feet move. He tried to follow, his feet both clumsy and heavy, contrasting Tess's light and—obviously practiced steps. He grimaced as he stumbled forward, caught by her. Tessa's giggles filled his ears as his clumsy footwork put him in a cycle of unrhythmic and out of time steps. Each stumble was followed by an 'Eek' of surprise or a giggle from Tess; despite it all, he smiled, he had a sense of freedom that he hadn't felt for a long time.
As they settled into an almost rhythm, Tess had applied more pressure with her hands and taken the lead. The music bounced into a crescendo in the background that made his heart swell. In that moment, everything felt, OK. Her smile was genuine and her eyes sparking with a warmth that he returned.
"When did our relationship turn into… this?" he thought to himself as the music began to fade.
Tessa prodded him playfully, her eyes glinting with mischief, "One down, countless more to go."
He could do nothing but laugh as his hand entwined with hers. "I should've known."