Chapter 40: The Ardent Magus

His eyes have a feeling of tension, like the clear surface of still water. The cuts on his robes, his slashed and tattered tail coat flutter as he walks. The sun illuminates his face. He has a lean wolfish appearance, with auburn hair, golden eyes, and stubble of beard. Or is that really a stubble beard? The dirt seems to never leave him.

The war band of Valera Asmara, it lost half of its members and has lost more than any war band. It was now like a raiding party instead. A party of unwilling bunch glued together by fear and shame. Fear that of the unstable lady of Asmara piercing their hearts with her lance. Shame that of the ardent magus who has been helping this war band without any hints of tiredness. No matter what they do. No matter how many insults are hurled towards him. The Captain of the war band will help.

Every one of them asks why he would help so fervently. The Captain replies that he wants to because he enjoys it. He did not get it. Why would a man endure so much just because he enjoys helping? It was an insane to him. He could not understand at all.

“I died once. A stranger saved me. He brought me from the ashes with a smile as if it meant the world to him. That man became my foster father. He named me Arden, for it means Eager, Ardent and Sincere, Fervent, Passionate, to the point of zealousness.”

The Captain explained. He thought that the Captain’s meaning of his name really describes him. ‘To the point of zealousness’ is the right way to describe the captain. Ardent, the captain’s name seems to come from that word. Hence, the war band is now calling him the Ardent Magus rather than the Foolish Magus, simply because calling him foolish is not enough anymore. He was beyond foolish.

How many times has he been spat by the Mad Lady of Asmara?

She and the Captain were at odds with each other. The Captain does not show fear like everyone. The Lady insists the Captain to pay his respects to her but he never does. The Captain will stare at the lady will those still water eyes of his. He cannot count how many times since the maid of the Lady has stopped her from killing the Captain. She owes her life to the Captain. She was saved and even she could not be so cruel to forget that.

She has been the one feeding the Captain when no one does. The war band could not be called a war band anymore. It is a raiding party that stole from villages to survive. Most of the times when a caravan appears the Lady would demand a tribute. It is sickening and even the others could tell that the lady wasn’t thinking straight. The maid has explained that there was something wrong with the lady after the ascension ritual.

The lady before taking the ritual of ascension was rather agitated by her lost. Instead of meditating the lady supposedly drank herself low that her soul became weak. In the ritual of ascension, the lady got begotten. Her soul begets personality and the knight that imprinted her somehow affected the lady’s soul.

It is possible that she got influenced by that heroic soul. A Heroic Soul is recognized by his prowess, whether that knight was good or not is irrelevant. The ritual of Ascension's goal is to imprint the abilities and skills of a heroic soul to a knight to ascend them. That is why when taking the ritual one’s soul must be resilient. And the maid tells everyone that the lady’s soul could not resist the soul’s influence.

No one believes the maid that much. The royal guards of Asmara were proud and arrogant. They could see their daughter acting this way. But even they won’t stoop so low to raid caravans and demand tribute. Some accepted that the lady is like that because of the maid’s explanation while some sneers at the explanation.

But most of them hate the lady for turning them into like bandits. They hate her for making that war leader leave turning them into miserable rovers that can only keep their heads low and ask for help at the most miserable one in the war band who keeps them from splitting away.

Most of the scouts have left with their maps. With no one but the lady knowing the way they can only follower her unwillingly. The Ardent Captain might know the way but everyone is too ashamed to call for his help. He is already doing all the chores for the ‘war band’ and they would even call for him to lead the way?

They are shameful men and women that desire to arrive at their destination safely. They have their own goals and important things to protect. They know that they are taking advantage of the Captain but they can only endure it. They are normal people who fear the lady. They respect the Captain no doubt but even they have to think of themselves. They like the captain but they like their lives more than the Captain.

He respects the Captain like the others. He could understand why that guy who followed the Captain did what he did. The Captain did not now that person’s name. No one knew about his name and only the nameless sword of that person remains. The Captain keeps that nameless sword that has an insignia of a cog.

It is a reminder to that nameless soldier.

Nameless he was but he was a brave selfless man. He can respect that. He could never do something like that. He likes himself too much to die. There was someone waiting for him. That is why he can only endure the traveling with this war band. He hates the war band just like everyone. It made him become lower than bandits. And only through one’s spirit that they are allowing themselves to endure.