Chapter 10: A new beginning

A new world. A new adventure. A new life. Under any other circumstance, Astora would have rejoiced for this second chance bestowed upon her. However, the cost was a loved one’s life, which was far too great. The girl stared blankly at the rising sun from the horizons, thinking how beautiful it was. She has never breathed such fresh air. The smell of dense forestation and soil served as a good medication for the healing of her spirit. This kind of place was already gone in her old world when the girl was born so she never had the chance to experience something like this.

*STOMACH GROWL*

The serenity and calmness of nature was disrupted by the primitive plea of basic human thirst for hunger. Realizing that she has not actually eaten anything since the hospital, Astora decided that it was no longer time to savor the wonders of nature. After she woke up the next morning, her only companion Grimora has retold what happened after she passed out, mainly the story with the mysterious white knight. The man didn’t seem like a bad guy, at least compared to the suspicious crowd Astora has met so far so she believed that his words were trustworthy. However, there was something about what he said that bothered her. It was his second advice where he precisely warned her about mentioning the name Alastor. For all she knew, Alastor was the name of her father and that was it. In his conversation with Grimora, the knight initially said he didn’t know anyone by that name yet later warned her about asking around that name. There seemed to be some contradiction here.

Alas, her mind and body could not keep going if she didn’t have anything to eat. For now, she should probably follow the man’s advice and headed north in attempt to find civilization. Nature was all good and all but for a young girl like her, nothing beat a warm roof with food. That was if the people here would agree to take her in. Wearing a single white piece dress but stained with blood and dirt, Astora would have a hard time to explain her circumstances.

And so the girl decided to head north, knowing nothing about what would happen to her future.

“Mistress, are you doing okay?” Grimora asked while being carried in the girl’s arm. To avoid unnecessary attention, it would be better to conceal Grimora’s true form and instead disguised him as a normal book. The two could always exchange telepathically anyway.

“I am fine, just hungry.” Astora fondled her empty growling stomach.

“Not that, I mean..after what happened…It is normal to feel lost and….”

“I have already come to terms with that. It is not like I can do anything to change that now. But that doesn’t mean I will do nothing. I made a promise with mom to find dad and I will do it.”

“I see. Whatever your decision is, mistress, I am always with you.” Grimora cheerfully said.

“Thanks! By the way, let me see the new entries we got!” Astora opened her book and checked the new contents.

Spell: Divine Thunderbolt

Rank: Unique (Zeus)

Description: Divine magic representative of the Sky Father Zeus, lord of Olympus. The thunderbolt steers the course of all things and ordains the pattern of the Universe. Its wielder will gain control over the skies and storms.

This came from back when Astora “imprinted” the thunderbolt thrown at her by Zeus. From Grimora’s explanation, the act of imprinting a magic allowed Astora to utilize it later. Combined with the act of expel, it granted her the ability to copy her opponent’s abilities on the condition that Grimora has seen and received the attack first. It explained why Astora was able to use the Flames of Gehenna she took from Cerberus.

But that was just one functionality of the book. Its second ability was actually much more terrifying. When certain special conditions were met, Astora could unlock and perform a summoning ritual to invoke the true power of Grimora. The appearance of the Unholy Grail of Malevolence was such an example. However, the most difficult thing was to figure out the requirements of the ritual. For example, the Unholy Grail of Malevolence required the user to have known the pain of losing a loved one. With the death of her own mother, Astora was able to communicate with the chalice and therefore unlocked it permanently. In short, once the conditions were met the first time, the user could summon the thing again and again without the need to repeat such circumstances. Of course, these powerful abilities all required some sort of sacrifice, making it difficult and extremely destructive if wrongly used. The last thing Astora wanted was to repeat that dreadful ritual again in this foreign soil. With power came responsibility and she felt that she should not use it again, at least not for now.

“Quite a few things here.” The girl muttered.

“Be careful with the last one though! That thing is far too dangerous to be used in a normal fight.” Grimora said. “You were lucky that Zeus was fighting those weird guys. If not, he could have killed you instantly before the ritual could be completed. You would need to have your allies or some kind of protective to defend yourself in such situation.”

“I know. But the appearance of the chalice….it was a little too convenient don’t you think? As if it was designed for that moment….” The girl said.

“I don’t know a lot about these summons, to be honest. You should try an expert on that. Maybe the weird shop you visited in your dreams where you found me? Maybe that old geezer or that hot android could help.”

“Good thinking! I will remember to ask them next time we meet. For now, let’s focus on our utmost concern: finding food.”

Assuming that the sun did rise from the east in this world, Astora resumed her journey towad the north in hope that she would find a village or a town of sort. But it didn’t look great for her. She could quell her thirst by drinking the pure river water but she found nothing edible along the way. There were actually a few colorful fruits growing on some trees but their glowing color and the odd form of the trees made her feel uneasy to eat them. What if it was poisonous? Slowly, the girl walked and walked, on the verge of collapsing again.

It was then that the girl saw a column of smoke from afar. Smoke meant fire and fire meant people. Because of the tall trees, there was no way to ascertain what the smoke actually was. The only way was for her to climb a small hill that overlooked over the area ahead. The moment she reached the summit, it confirmed her speculation. That smoke came from a small town ahead, just over this hill. She just needed to climb down the hill and the town should be in sight.

“Be careful there, mistress!” Grimora warned. The terrain was rough and harsh for a little girl who was not exactly the model of health. And indeed she slipped, rolling down the cliff. Fortunately, she didn’t hit her head and only received a few bruises, adding more to her already full collection.

“Damn it….” The girl struggled to stand up. Her body was hit quite bad. “…Someone…anyone….help!”

Sounds of footsteps drew near. It was so loud and synchronous that it must belong to a group of great discipline, like a march of solider or some sort. Combined with the clacking sounds of metal hitting each other, perhaps a battalion of knights would be the better fit. The most important thing however, it was that they were heading right toward Astora. It seemed that she has ended up at the bottom of the cliff, in the middle of an earthen road.

“HALT!” the voice of an aged man rang loudly.

Astora, curious about the voice despite her weak state, rose her head. A company of knights in heavy armor with red cloth was in front of her. Leading them was a white bearded old man wearing the same outfit as the knights but with an additional chainmail covered his head leaving all but his face. Still, it was much less impressive compared to the uniform wore by the knight Astora saw the day before.

Approaching the dirty girl on the ground, the old man crouched down and checked her pulse. The men turned back and called another to come to his side. By that time, Astora was already on the verge of falling unconscious. She could barely hear what the old man was talking to his subordinates. Her eyes became blurry and everything fell into darkness.

* * *

“Hum….Where am I?” the girl’s eyes wanted to open but the bright light stopped her from doing so quickly. Her vision slowly came back as her eyes became acquainted with the light. Falling off unconscious so many times within such a short amount of time definitely has accustomed the girl to darkness. Plus, the lack of nutrients and the ongoing exhaustion didn’t help either.

“Welcome back to the real world, milady!” a young male voice echoed.

The girl was lying on a bed inside a small room. The unstable bed made a creaky sound when she tried to get up. Aside from the basic wooden furniture, there wasn’t much in the room. Still, it gave a cozy feeling, almost an antique vibe compared to what the old world the girl lived in. Sitting next to the table, a charming young man in light armor held a small leather book in his hand while staring at the awakened girl. He had blond hair and deep blue eyes and seemed quite young to be a knight, perhaps only a few years older than Astora herself. Noticing the girl trying to get out of bed, he quickly put down his book and put her back to bed.

“Don’t push yourself just yet! You need to rest.” The blond man spoke.

“Where am I?” Astora asked. “What happened?”

“You are in the town of Bremen. We found you unconscious in the outskirts of the town and brought you back here. Thankfully you made it!” the young male said.

“So you saved me? Thank you!” Astora bowed her head.

“There is no need to thank me. We only did what our duties told us to: to save the life of the innocents.” The knight gracefully lowered his head. “I apologize to ask you this while you are still recovering but can you tell us what happened to you? How did you end up in such a state?”

“Hum….Hum…..” Astora showed some hesitation. She didn’t prepare a story beforehand for this kind of situation. And she had to be careful in what she said. If it was the same as the knight before, she must not allow them to know about her origin. But that didn’t go unnoticed.

“Where are my manners? Let me present myself.” The knight stood up and saluted firmly. “I am Sir Alan Sinclair, knight of the Crimson Legion of the Angelic Faith. Although I call myself a knight, I am nothing more than a squire apprentice who only joined the legion recently.” The knight let out a small hint of bitterness as he spoke of his new job. But when he noticed the girl’s attention, Alan quickly regained his composure and smiled. “In short, I am no one suspicious. You don’t have to be wary of me, miss…?”

“…Astora. My name is Astora.” The girl replied.

“Astora?” Alan pondered for a moment. The girl wondered if her name did somehow reveal her identity. “I see. That is a beautiful name. It is my first time to see someone who has the same name as the old world. But that doesn’t matter. So can you tell me about what you were doing and how did you end up in that state?”

“Hum….Hum….I…” Astora thought hard. But it was too sudden so she jumped at the first idea that popped in her head. “I can’t remember….I can’t remember anything.” The girl pretended to hold her head in pain.

“You can’t remember? Amnesia? Could it be that you hit your head somewhere?” the knight asked out of concern.

“I don’t know…Maybe…I do remember falling and rolling down a cliff…But before that….OUCH!” the girl faked an agonizing growl, then a few drop of tears fell onto her cheek.

“It is alright. There is no need to push yourself. It must be such a traumatic event for this to happen. But I am sure your memories will come back in time.” Alan said. “In the meantime, you can stay here in the town until we figure something out.”

“Thank you, ..sir Alan!”

“Please, you can call me Alan. There is no need to be so formal.” The young man smiled.

*STOMACH GRUMBLE*

The loud stomach groan of a girl in her teens broke the flow of the conversation. On one side, it was just too funny for the guy who could barely keep his laughter. On the other hand, the culprit herself just wanted to die out of embarrassment.

“I will ask the innkeeper to bring you some food. Once you regain your strength, I will show your around the town. If you are going to stay here for a while, it is best to know a bit about the region. Perhaps we can even find clues about your situation. I am sure your relatives are desperately looking for you out there.” Alan spoke.

It was the common thing to say. When lost, anyone would hope that their family would find them again. Yet, the expression the girl showed on her face was not something of hope but more like the absence of one. As if she knew that her family wouldn’t be looking for her, for whatever reason it might be. And that resonated with something inside sir Alan. It was not pity he felt but something as a kin, like he understood her feeling.

“I hope so too…” Astora answered with a sad tone.

“…I will be in the next room if you need me.” The knight humbly said and retreated himself from the room, closing the door behind him.

“So he is finally gone.” Grimora, who has pretended to be a normal book the while time and rested on the table, flew to his master’ side. “Phew, good riddance.”

“Well he kind of saved us so I would rather avoid saying anything bad about him. My luck with people isn’t very high recently so to meet someone who would want to help me is much appreciated.” The girl said. “He said something about the Crimson Legion. Are they the knights who found me?”

“I guess so. After you fell unconscious, the commander of the knights ordered that guy along to bring you back to town and to keep an eye on you while the rest of them resumed their mission.” Grimora recalled.

“Mission? Do you think they are looking for us? The direction they were heading is where we landed, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t really know.” Grimora said. “But be careful around him, mistress! I think he is onto us.”

“What makes you say that?”

“The whole time you were sleeping, he was in this room, staring at you. He even inspected me very thoroughly but since I can only be opened by you, he didn’t see anything inside. Still, that ought to make him suspicious of us.”

“.....”

“And there is more…..That guy is a pervert! He changed your cloth.” Grimora said.

“WHAT?” Astora lowered her head to ascertain the truth. It was true. She was no longer wearing the dirty bloodied one piece anymore but a frilly white dress, one that clearly belonged to nobility.

“He did cover have his eyes closed though. For such a situation, the guy clearly was experienced, able to change your cloth so quickly with his eyes closed.”

“So he didn’t see anything?” Astora blushed. “That still doesn’t make this okay. I will have a word with him later.” The girl clenched her fist.

It didn’t take long for the food to come. The innkeeper, a big muscular yet gentle faced looking man, brought a whole plate of various dishes from meat soup to bread and some fruits. Normally, a client would have to eat downstairs in the tavern but since the girl was injured and the request came from the Crimson Legion, the innkeeper agreed to make an exception. It seemed that whoever these crimson knights were, they held quite the influence in the area.

After finishing her meal, it was time to confront the pervert next door. Astora rushed out of her room but Alan was already waiting outside, as if he has expected her to come out by now.

“Did you enjoy your meal, lady Astora?” Alan lowered his head.

“Tell me, was it you the one who changed my cloth while I passed out?” Astora fumed.

“Yes, it was me. But before you hit me, I swear that I didn’t take advantage of the situation nor did I do any despicable act to you. I didn’t know if you were injured somewhere and the only person around was the innkeeper. Since the captain has tasked me with helping you, I did what I thought was the best course of action.” Alan explained cheerfully. Though, his words didn’t sound very sincere.

“…..” As much as she wanted to hit the guy, Astora couldn’t blame him. Like it or not, he did save her. “Fine…I will take your words for it. But I would prefer to wear something more comfortable, if it is possible. This dress just seems too expensive.”

“Well, I do agree with you. I will find you some appropriate clothing. Too bad though, the dress really suits you.”

“I will give it back to you.” said Astora.

“Nah, you can’t keep it.” Said Alan. “Its owner won’t ever need it again anyway.” Alan gave a sad smile, as if to hide a certain grief he contained within him. “Anyway, let’s go outside! I have spoken with the local mayor about you. If you are going to stay here for a while, it would be best to meet with him first.”

“Okay.”

Walls made in stone and wooden logs, the dirt lanes were filled with horse tracks and footsteps. Such a quiet and peaceful ambience the town had. A walk in the street was enough for Astora to conclude that she was in some kind of medieval age when science has yet to prevail or was never present at all. In term of technology, they were far behind her world. However, the people of Valhalla possessed something her world didn’t to compensate for their lack: magic. Creating water out of thin air, set things on fire instantly, not to mention the powerful abilities displayed in combat, the people would definitely not lose in term of power compared to the modern military. Despite her surprise, Astora remembered to keep in check her excitement. The reason was straightforward: Alan was by her side wherever she went. If she said that she knew nothing about the existence of magic, it would be too strange and created suspicions upon her. Still, seeing small kids throwing floating water bubbles at each other as a form a game was truly remarkable.

‘So everyone is able to cast magic? Even little kids? I wonder if I can.’ Astora stared at the children running around with their water magic.

“Could it be that you want to play too?” Alan asked.

“Oh no….I am…not very good with magic.” Astora spoke.

“That’s fine. Not everyone is able to use magic anyway. You can ask them to lend you their talisman. Or you can buy one. This kind of toy should cost next to nothing.” The charming knight explained.

‘Talisman? What is that?’ thought Astora. ‘And not everyone can use magic? This is good info.’ The girl learnt something. “I don’t have any money…” said Astora apologetically.

Seeing the poor girl who seemed to envious of such a simply toy, Alan took the girl’s arm and led her to a nearby shop. Astora expected to see something explosive or at least shiny magic that could create the talisman. To her own disappointment, all the seller did was pulling out a stack of small old sheets and gave it to Alan.

“Here you go!” The young man handed over a small paper with some strange characters imprinted on it.

“…How do I use it?” asked the girl after checking the simple paper.

“You mean you never used a talisman before?” asked Alan in shock.

“I never got the chance. My family is very strict you see and hum…”

“That’s weird. If you don’t have much talent with magic then your parents should have let you use talisman. That is common logic.” Alan said. He seemed to be getting suspicious. Based on the girl’s reaction, she could have been a sheltered child but even so, to not knowing anything about one of the most important and common tool in the entire world was questionable.

“I…..” Astora panicked. The tension started to become heavy.

“I suppose we all have our problems.” Alan’ sudden smile lifted the tense atmosphere. “Let me teach you then! To use a talisman is actually very simple. You just need to recite what is written on it, in this case only the name of the spell since it is just a simple spell, and tada! ” A bubble of water the size of a tennis ball manifested itself in Alan’s hand. Then he swiped his hand toward a nearby wall, splashing the water onto it. “The trick here is to know the Tashian Alphabet, which is used to write these strange characters on each talisman.”

“So cool!” Astora spoke in excitement.

“Of course it is! It is thanks to this that even those who lack the gift of magic can defend themselves. The Angelic Faith and its members swear to protect the people. However, we can’t be everywhere. Imagine yourself against a monster. A simple farmer would definitely be no match for even the weakest of beast. However, with a talisman, even a child could cast the ultimate magic, capable of levelling an entire city. Of course, I am exaggerating. Such talisman is not easily to get and is considered a national treasure at that point.” Alan explained.

“What a great invention! How long does it last?” asked the girl.

“It depends on the mage who made it and the spell itself. The more mana and the more skillful the mage, the more times you get. On the opposite side, the higher level the spell is, the lesser times you can use it. Since each talisman is handmade, it takes a considerable amount of times to mass produce even the lowest level of spell. And yet, the Circle of Magi manages to produce hundreds of talismans every day. Frankly, I don’t know how they do it but I sure am grateful for their effort.”

Alan noticed the girl holding the talisman in a very caring manner. Such an old and cheap thing, why did she suddenly change her attitude toward it? What the knight didn’t know was that Astora was very sensitive to the ‘feelings’ of the objects around her. This was an effect of her psychometry power that allowed her to read the information of objects she saw. The closer she was with the target, the stronger and better info she got. And amongst those myriads of information, emotions were often the easiest to spot but also the strongest to make themselves seen.

The girl could see the back of a man in robe sitting on a wooden chair next to his supposed work desk. He seemed to be writing the inscriptions on these talismans with extreme concentration and care. Even though it was just a memory, the girl could tell that this man was extremely powerful. He radiated with power. And yet, such a powerful man was only replicating these worthless talismans while if he wished so, he could very well make a talisman capable of changing the layouts of the land. He did it for a very simple reason: so that the children of the outlands could have some fun. A vision of peace, it was what he sought. A noble but seemingly impossible goal after years of struggle, yet he persisted. So that he could see it one day.

“Miss Astora?” Alan swiped his hand in front of the girl to wake her up. “Are you okay? You just stand there looking blankly for a second there. If you are tired, we can go see the mayor tomorrow.”

“Oh…no no no it is fine. I am just…kind of overwhelmed by the talisman.” Astora flustered.

“Overwhelmed? By such a simple thing?”

“No no I mean…For such an useful tool, the person who made this decided to make a toy out of it for the children. I think…I believe that is amazing.” Astora said with heavy breath. “Sorry if it sounds weird.”

“No no, to be honest, I share that belief as well. I am sure that the Great Enchanter would be glad to hear those words you just said.” Alan smiled awkwardly. He truly didn’t expect her to say such a thing.

“The Great Enchanter? So he is the one who created these talismans?”

“Well he is the one who created the first talismans and also the person who support giving them to the common folk instead of only military groups. But I doubt he has time to make these toys, being of the Six Pillars of Valhalla and everything.”

From her perception earlier, Astora believed that the man she saw in those memories was indeed the Great Enchanter. If that was the case, he seemed to be someone who cared about the people. But there was something Alan spoke of that struck the girl: the word ‘Pillar’. The white knight did warn her about engaging in conflict with the Pillars. Whoever they were, they must be some sort of kings or queens, or at the very least people with great influence. Astora wanted to ask more about them but she was afraid that asking too much would raise suspicion so she had to bear it for now. Still, whatever the case, one thing was for sure. These Pillars, apart from the fact that there were six of them, must all be very powerful, the epitomes of power.