Chapter 5:

The Wolf’s Kingdom

Do not get attached. Human hearts are cauldrons that boil hotter the more they hold.

If yours holds nothing, there is nothing for them to take.

So do not get attached. Let my death be the last thing that weighs on your soul, lest your heart bursts from excess. There is no emotion in this world worth feeling, no being worth loving.

I made all these mistakes myself, and it cost me my humanity and then my life.

Be better than me.

Let go.

---

Valerian’s last words rang hollow in Aidan’s mind as he approached the spot where he and Alaya were attacked.

Am I just rushing to my death?

Aidan’s skin crawled as the presence as before fell upon him, weighing down on his shoulders. He could feel it from somewhere far ahead, hidden behind the trees and bushes.

The mage was watching.

Aidan did the best he could not to let his anxiety show. His eyes fixated on spotting anything flying his way, even though he knew that he stood no chance of actually avoiding an attack.

As Aidan got closer to the village, he came across wooden spikes in the ground, poking out just enough to impale someone’s foot.

Talbareth didn’t have anything like this.

Aidan trod slowly and carefully through the trees when suddenly he heard a growl from behind him. He turned around to see a dog staring him down. When their eyes met, Aidan felt the mage staring back at him.

The hound approached him with its teeth bared. Aidan slowly backed away, nearly stepping into a spike before a loud bark interrupted him. Aidan peeked behind him to see another dog walking toward him.

The two hounds corralled Aidan in a single direction as more and more dogs slowly joined in. Aidan soon found himself being stared down by over twenty of them.

Despite their overwhelming numbers, they made no attempt to attack him. They appeared content just herding him towards Kulum.

Sweat beads ran down Aidan’s forehead, and his hands shivered. Vicious howls of old echoed in his mind.

They won’t bite, they won’t attack, they won’t kill.

These thoughts played on loop as he fought to control his breathing.

Once he was fifty meters away from the village, the temperature around him shifted slightly. The dogs barked loudly in unison. Soon, he heard human voices approaching.

Aidan’s chest tightened. The sound of dogs leading their masters to their prey was familiar, oh so familiar. After all those long years, his body still reacted the same. As if today was the day his body was only seconds away from being torn to shreds under fang and claw.

“Is that her? Did she come for us?”

Aidan could hear the voices clearly now. He had only minutes left to get a grip and get his story straight.

Fighting against the fear, Aidan slowly moved his body, inch by inch. He could hear the sound of rusted metal scraping across the ground and ripping from its hinges every time one of his limbs returned to life.

Aidan turned around to face the approaching group.

Before him stood an envoy composed of over a dozen men, all wielding crude weapons. Though the demonic plague still placed its mark upon their tired flesh, they had still managed to push through and train themselves to a physical peak.

Behind Aidan, the barks hit him like small shockwaves, sending small jitters up his body.

Aidan wanted to do more. Wave his hand and say hello.

But he couldn’t.

The men looked at each other, confused. They had come here, prepared for a fight to the death. And before them stood a boy, who wore no expression on his face, simply staring back at them.

“Good lord lad, you gave us one hell of a scare.” One of them finally spoke up.

“Are you alright? Don’t you know that there’s a monster stalking these lands?” Another said.

Relief. That was what Aidan wished he felt at that moment, but these men were so friendly it was almost uncanny.

“Alright, everyone, I think we gave our visitor enough of a scare.”

From the group, a single man stepped forward. He instantly stood out from the crowd of large men, being short with a frail-looking physique. He dressed no better than a regular peasant, and his unkempt dark brown hair would fool you into thinking that he was an ordinary man. Still, he alone carried an air of authority. His only outstanding feature was a set of scars running across his face, sealing his closed eyes forever.

However, of more note to Aidan was the crimson ring on his ring finger.

“Welcome to our village, young man. I apologize for the rough first impression. I assure you we mean no harm.”

Aidan breathed in. He made sure to drop the familiar tone his voice picked up while speaking to Alaya and adopted his trained cordial mannerisms.

“None done, sir...?”

“Novarac. Please allow us to redeem ourselves for the harsh greeting, mister…?”

“Aidan, and yeah, that sounds good.”

Hesitantly Aidan joined the group. It could not be understated just how relieved the men looked to not have to face Alaya.

All but one.

Among them was a boy two years Aidan’s elder, with rough, medium-length hair the color of azure. He brandished a pair of roughly crafted short axes whose blades were composed of large fragments of sharpened rock. On his back rested a spear fashioned by hand with a long stick, pointed rock, and held together by a lot of string.

Still, to call him a boy was perhaps misleading. He stood a whole head above Aidan, and his body was trained beyond everyone else in the group. Three long, dark veins cut through the middle of his face, starting from the upper right corner of his forehead, passing over his nose and right eye, and ending at the bottom left corner of his chin and jaw.

This dark thunderbolt adorning his face was completed by the vicious, unforgiving glare held within his pale purple eyes. The same glare that Aidan had only ever seen in inquisitors and the people about to kill him.

“Are you sure we should be allowing him into our village?” He spoke up.

“Do you have a problem with that?” Asked Novarac.

Judging by the tone of the question, Novarac already knew what answer he was going to get.

“‘Course I do. We’re barely scraping by as is without another mouth to feed. What do you think this scrawny kid can offer us? Just give ‘im directions to the nearest city and tell ‘im to scram.”

Novarac shook his head.

“Marvin, the dogs detected the plague child in the vicinity of the village today.”

All of the men immediately went on guard the moment they heard those words.

“That being the case, can you, in good conscience, turn Aidan away and doom him to its jaws.”

Novarac put great emphasis on that last word. Marvin grit his teeth and spat to the side in disgust.

Before Aidan could understand what was happening, Marvin turned to face him again. Though his gaze was still anything but welcoming, it had lost its edge.

“No. Nobody deserves that. Sorry, bud. Come along with us.”

With the complaints settled, Aidan was finally brought to the village. The hounds followed the group from behind, always keeping their eyes on the newcomer. It took Aidan everything he had to hide his fear from the group.

Soon they arrived before the entrance of Kulum, a large pair of wooden gates from which sprouted a long palisade that surrounded the entire village.

“We are here.” Said Novarac before turning back to the hounds. The frail man clapped, though no sound came out. In perfect unison, the dogs retreated back into the forest.

Aidan allowed himself a small sigh of relief.

“Is that you guys? Guessing that wasn’t the plague child the dogs found.” A voice sounded from behind the gates.

“Nope, false alarm. Just a random traveler.”

The gates slowly opened, allowing the group access inside.

“Welcome to Kulum.” Said Novarac as he motioned to the village.

The buildings spread out into the distance well past the forest, with half of it reaching downwards into an open and clear valley.

A glance of it revealed precisely what Aidan had expected. Cracked ground, uneven elevation, damaged houses. The demon was certainly there. All Aidan needed to do was find him.

“Right this way, sir Aidan. We just need to take care of a few things before you are free of us.”

That’s right. He needed to be left alone to begin his search. Aidan impatiently clenched his fist as he followed the rapidly darkening group in front of him.

“Huh?”

The shadow enveloped all twenty men as Aidan looked up to see a giant boulder falling from the sky.

“Oh crap, get out of the way!” Yelled Marvin.

Everyone jumped aside, with Aidan leaping backward right as the boulder crashed down inches away from him. The impact launched Aidan away as dust and debris pelted him.

“What the hell was that?!?”

Marvin yelled while Aidan slowly pushed himself up just enough to see the boulder that had almost crushed him. The ground around it was sunk beneath it, thanks to its insane weight.

“Sorry, a dog spooked me right when you were in my blind spot.” A female voice apologized.

“You could have killed god damn everyone!”

“I-I’m fine!” Aidan yelled, mostly to reassure himself that he was not hurt.

With heavily trembling legs, Aidan got back up as Marvin berated the girl.

“It seems Kulum had one more scare in store for you. Please forgive Nova. She has talent but far too little experience.” Apologized Novarac.

“Experience? Experience with what?”

Aidan looked back to Marvin and Nova, only to see Marvin sink his fingers into the boulder. With a casual motion, as if picking up litter off the floor, Marvin lifted the massive stone and rested it on his shoulder. The ground beneath his feet cracked and sunk, yet the man showed no discomfort as he held an almost building-sized stone.

Aidan’s jaw hit the floor while Novarac smiled.

Nova ran up to Marvin and into view of Aidan. She was exactly Aidan’s height, and her long hair that reached her lower back was the color of ripe wine. She wore a golden tinted sweater, pants a more mellow shade, and two red heart-shaped pins in her hair.

“Girl, be more careful! When you practice with objects of this size, you can’t afford to lose your focus! You nearly flattened our guest!” Yelled Novarac.

“Guest?” Nova turned to face Aidan.

Getting a look at her face, her most distinguishing feature immediately came into view.

A massive wound covered almost the entirety of the left half of her face. A series of round scars similar ran from the top of her forehead down to her nose and then sideways to her cheek. The scars could be likened to massive fang marks, and the circle they delimited on her face had plenty of aged, stretched-out scar tissue strewn within.

Her left eye was gone along with most of her ear, and the part of her scalp that was enclosed by this apparent bite wound no longer had any hair growing on it.

For a moment, her intact eye met with Aidans. A flame of curiosity lit up in it as she took note of his appearance. But to Aidan, the way she stared at him was almost unsettling.

“Marvin, come help finish Aidan’s accommodations. The rest of you are free to go.”

Marvin rejoined Aidan and Novarac, covering them under the shadow of the boulder he was carrying.

The other men bid their farewells to Aidan and wished him a pleasant stay. The three continued onwards, Nova staring holes into Aidan as he walked past her.

Once they were out of listening distance, Aidan asked.

“What was that? Did she throw it with her arms?”

“You got the wrong sibling, bud,” Marvin said while smirking.

Novarac continued.

“Of course not, lad. I’m sure a well-traveled man such as yourself is familiar with magic.”

“Her?!?” Aidan couldn’t hide the shock in his voice.

“Haha, it’s normal to be surprised. For a peasant to be capable of magic, she’s the pride of our village. The star child of Kulum.”

“I see. That is incredible.”

Marvin gave both a deadpan stare. This made Aidan nervous. Novarac, despite his blindness, noticed Marvin’s attitude and smiled quite cheeky for a man his age.

“Of course, Marvin, of course. We cannot overlook your talents, as brutish as they are.”

“Boss, you know I’m still carrying this thing, and I can drop it on ya anytime I want.”

“If you wish to visit our neighbors in Talbareth so badly, by all means.”

Novarac’s expression and tone did not change in the slightest, making Aidan unable to tell if that was a joke or a threat.

Marvin huffed and smiled.

“Like I was saying, yes,” Novarac picked up the topic again. “Nova and Marvin have been blessed with a talent for the magic arts. Little Nova chose to branch out into learning spells, while Marvin over here used his magic to enhance his body.”

Aidan was not impressed. He was flabbergasted. Kulum had multiple magic users? Talbareth had been downright banal compared to this.

“Woof!”

A bark drew Aidan out of his thoughts. The young man turned to see a group of puppies playing around with children from the village. Another group of larger dogs was carrying sacks of grain on their backs. Yet another group helping some men cart around timber.

Everywhere he looked, dogs were running around, helping humans with tasks, or keeping watch on households.

And one, he could see, was trailing him from a distance, never losing sight of him.

“Surprised? This is just how our village works. We have developed a deep bond with our animals. The dogs you met outside are there to keep watch and warn us for when the plague child returns,” Novarac said proudly.

Aidan carefully grabbed the ends of his cloak and brought them together, hiding most of his torso and arms out of view. Behind it, Aidan’s hands were shaking violently.

They’re everywhere-They’re everywhere!

Marvin raised an eyebrow but didn’t voice any questions regarding Aidan’s behavior.

Quickly remembering his role, Aidan played along.

“T-The plague child? What is that?”

“Ah, let us not dwell on such unpleasant topics. Marvin will fill you in later.”

“Ain’t I carrying enough baggage already, boss?”

After a short walk, Novarac brought Aidan to his home.

Inside the house, more dogs awaited. A whole fifteen dogs were prancing about the place, pushing chairs around, jumping on tables, chasing each other around in circles.

“Please take a seat.”

Novarac waved his hand before a space where a chair should have been.

“There ain’t anything there, boss.” Marvin pointed out.

“Oh, that’s odd.”

Novarac clapped his hands, and again no sound came out. Almost instantly, a couple of dogs walked in, pushing a chair to where Novarac indicated.

“Now, take a seat, Aidan.”

Aidan hesitantly sat down.

“Excellent, now, what I brought you here for is-”

Novarac let loose a shrill yell as he tried to sit down only to fall ass first on the floor.

“Uh, boss, there ain’t anything there, either,” Marvin said, embarrassed.

“Ugh, what are those rascals doing with my chairs? No matter.” Novarac chose to remain on the ground. “As I said, our village has dealt with harassment and attacks from a monster.”

When he spoke those last words, Marvin gripped his axes while staring Aidan down.

“Of course, that is not to say we suspect you. Still, I have one thing to ask of you for both your safety and our peace of mind.”

Novarac clapped his hands. Five dogs of different breeds came running and then sat down in front of Aidan.

The color drained out of Aidan’s face upon realizing Novarac’s intention.

“Pick a partner to accompany you for your stay.”

“A partner…?” Aidan’s voice shook as he spoke.

Marvin scoffed.

“I have a better idea, boss.”

Marvin went into one of the adjacent rooms and brought back a brown puppy. It looked just old enough to venture out in the world.

“Are you out of your mind, Marvin?!? I can’t give him Tabby!” Novarac’s voice lost all traces of warmth or kindness.

“He’s the only puppy we got available, so-”

“Put him back, right now,” Novarac ordered.

Marvin sighed and leaned in to whisper something in Novarac’s ear. After he was done, Novarac looked none happier.

“Fine. I suppose Tabby is fine then. But I’ll require you to look after them in that case.”

Marvin shrugged and held the puppy out to Aidan. Aidan and Tabby stared each other in the eyes for a few seconds before Marvin spoke out.

“What are you waiting for, an invitation? Hold it already.”

Aidan reached out with trembling hands and grabbed the puppy.

It was fluffy and warm. Quite pleasant indeed.

“Now that you have your assigned dog, all that’s left is the command.”

Just like before, Novarac clapped his hands soundlessly.

The dog responded immediately. It wiggled free of Aidan’s grasp and leaped down to sit next to him. Tabby stared at him, focused and alert.

“What did you do?”

“Oh, just a little trick. Dogs hear sounds we do not. I’ve trained them to interpret those sounds as commands.”

Novarac rose to his feet and opened the door.

“Now, Aidan. I wish you a warm stay in Kulum. Marvin, if you will.”

“Yeah. Come with me.”

Aidan followed Marvin’s lead, stepping back outside with a puppy at his side. It felt like many things had just happened at once, and Aidan was not mentally ready to sort it all out.

Just the two of them now, Marvin finally spoke his mind.

“Why are you here?”

“What?”

Marvin stomped his spear on the ground loudly.

“If you were the monster, the dogs would have attacked you; I know that. But there is no single reason I can think for us to have visitors.”

“I’m just a young bard, traveling the countryside searching for inspiration. I had no idea of your situation before I came here!”

“So you’re just some random traveler that stumbled unto our village in the middle of bum fuck nowhere? What’s with that sword on your back then?”

“It’s for deterrence! And, it-it’s not exactly a coincidence that I’m here. You see I-”

Aidan had no choice but to reveal at least some information to Marvin.

“-I was traveling in the area by way of a carriage, but it was attacked at night by a monster. While it was eating my traveling companions, I escaped, and I wandered here looking to escape it.”

“A carriage?...” Marvin thought Aidan’s words over when he had a realization. “Were the soldiers traveling with you?”

Aidan nodded. Marvin turned around for a moment to let that information sink in.

“Damn it. They were supposed to free us from it.”

Before Marvin could continue their conversation, a third voice cut in.

“Hey, you two!”

Aidan, Marvin, and Tabby all turned their heads to see Nova approaching them.

“Nova? What are you doing here?”

“I came here to offer my apologies to our esteemed guest, naturally!”

Aidan hesitated to respond, still shaken up after Marvin’s threat. Seeing this, Marvin poked him in the leg with the flat end of his spear. Aidan’s eyes went wide from the sudden jolt of pain.

Fighting the urge to yell, he spoke.

“Er, it’s nothing. Just an accident, right?” Aidan’s voice shook.

“Mayhaps it was. Regardless, it’s required that I make it up to you. How does a tour of the village sound to you?”

What?

“What?”

Nova’s chipper expression dropped for a second. She rolled her eye at her brother, and then while speaking noticeably slower, she continued.

“I-want-to-show-him-around-Kul-”

“I understood what you meant! I’m asking why! That’s my duty!”

“Did he, now? Because to me, it appeared like you were but a moment away from poking our guest full of holes.”

“I, I wasn’t going to-”

At this point, annoyance overpowered the fear. Aidan couldn’t afford to dawdle around; he had promised Alaya to return promptly with the information.

“If it’s all the same, I can just look around by myself. My legs are starting to fall asleep.”

Nova motioned her hands to signify, ‘I told you so.’

Marvin sighed and relented.

“Let’s show him together then.”

The three began their tour. With Tabby following them closely behind, they visited every place Marvin considered noteworthy. Despite offering to do the tour herself, Nova participated very little, leaving the talking to Marvin. She was content to follow along, occasionally stealing glances at Aidan. A fact that did not escape his notice.

Marvin doesn’t seem aware. Perhaps his brand of magic doesn’t allow him to connect to the dogs, but what about her? Did she see me with Alaya?

And hers were not the only glances he took note of. The entire time, Aidan could feel the presence from the forest right behind him, watching him through the puppy’s eyes. It seemed certain that Novarac was the one keeping watch over the village through the eyes of the dogs.

No matter where they went, dogs were there to monitor them from afar.

Taking a gamble, Aidan spoke out about this.

“Why are there dogs following us?”.

“Don’t mind ‘em. Tabby is just special to the boss, so he’s paranoid about his safety.” Marvin clarified.

“Then why did he part with him?”

Marvin shrugged.

“‘Ya looked mighty uncomfortable. Figured you’ve had bad experiences with dogs, so I thought Tabby would be easier for you to bear.”

Aidan stopped in place. His surprise was written plain as day on his face.

“…You did that for me?”

“Don’t think much of it. I just don’t like seeing folk being tortured by their past.”

Nova took a loud breath and folded her arms in response.

“I hope, for his sake, you do better than usual.”

Marvin averted his eyes, ashamed.

For a moment, Aidan’s emotions were troubled. That kind of kindness was not something he had received in his life, not even from Valerian.

Maybe he’s different? Perhaps if I can explain Alaya’s situation to him, he’ll understand her too?

It was a risky gamble, but with Marvin’s ties to the magic, perhaps if Aidan could convince him of Alaya’s innocence, he could then learn of Novarac’s magical abilities and allow Alaya to slip through to get to him.

The tour moved on to more populated areas of the village.

“Hey Nova, beautiful day today, is it not?”

“Looking good, Nova! Show us some of your magic again this evening!”

Though innocuous at first, the amount of attention Nova received from the villagers as they passed by was far out of the ordinary. They showered her with compliments on her clothes, hair, and magic.

All of them combined still paled compared to the number of sweet words addressed at her beauty and general appearance. Despite her disfigured face, the villagers treated her like the goddess of beauty herself.

And every time they addressed her, she just smiled and waved. Like all of this was owed to her.

“Nova! We made you this!”

A group of kids came to her with a crown of flowers. Nova interrupted the tour to walk up to them. She bent over and hugged them before accepting and wearing their gift.

“That’s so beautiful. I love it! Thank you, everyone.”

The way she spoke and moved was so painfully familiar that it instantly struck a nerve in Aidan.

That’s exactly how Valerian taught me to behave around people. Why would she…. It has to be a mistake. I can’t be right. She’s the star child of her people.

Aidan stared at her. He had never seen someone receive so much affection and love in his entire life. Her smile could not be wider. It all must have felt amazing.

Aidan’s chest swelled with jealousy.

There’s no way I can try my plan with Nova. She’s drunk on their love, and going by her scars, she hates Alaya the most of all of them.

“Isn’t she perfect?” Asked Marvin.

“I suppose so,” Aidan answered half-heartedly.

“Everyone wants to see the plague child burn for what it did to her. I will be the one to light the pyre.” Marvin continued.

Aidan’s eyes went wide before forcing himself to resume a neutral expression.

I can’t-Control yourself! They’ll all kiss the dirt at her feet once you’re done, so just take it until then!

Though hearing the venom in Marvin’s voice made Aidan lose some confidence in his plan, he still hoped that he could convince Marvin.

“I told you I don’t want to hear that kind of talk again,” Nova said solemnly while returning to them.

“Sorry. I didn’t realize you’d hear me.”

“And you had to take the occasion to share your murder fantasies with our guest? That’s truly deplorable, Marvin. City folk like him are not barbarians like you and your friends. They don’t relish bloodshed.”

Nova’s gaze was extremely harsh as she berated Marvin. Aidan stared at both of them, completely thrown off by Nova’s reaction.

While Marvin apologized to her, Aidan tried to understand what he had just witnessed. She should have been the most on board with killing Alaya.

I suppose after whatever happened to her face, she can’t take mentions of violence well.

The tour continued until Aidan knew the ins and outs of the village. The local well, the animal pens, cornfields, everything contained within the palisade encircling Kulum. Though he had not planned for it, it was useful for their inevitable fight with the demon.

Still, Aidan couldn’t help but feel like something was off. The siblings avoided taking him to the village center. It was the only place he had not seen yet, not even from a distance.

Marvin ended the tour at a corner of the village in the valley. The area was clear with several logs with sacks of hay tied around them planted into the ground. Standing twenty meters away from them were various villagers, all firing arrows at the targets. All the bows they used were roughly made, handcrafted by them after numerous failed attempts.

Nova had not followed the two here, instead choosing to wait for Aidan at a distance where she could not see any of the proceedings.

“Is this where you all prepare to fight the plague child?” Aidan felt compelled to ask.

“Indeed. The dark star won’t catch me unprepared a second time.” Said Marvin with a proud look on his face.

Aidan raised an eyebrow. Plague child was a name with no meaning behind it but to deride Alaya.

Dark star, however….

“Why do you have two names for the monster?”

“Only I call it that. The night it attacked Nova and robbed her of half of her face, the sky was swallowed up by a gigantic black star. No other village in the area reported seeing it, and it’s been so long that people are thinkin’ we imagined it. But I know what I saw.”

“Sounds… insane.”

A dark star… That kind of demon omen, Valerian’s only ever told me about it once.

The birth of every demon warped the cosmos and heralded the birth of a new celestial object. Vaska’s omen, the blue moon, was the sign of the Thinker and the Lover.

But the dark star? Aidan could not recollect the meaning behind it.

“I hope it doesn’t attack while I am here. I’d hate to have put you all in danger with my presence.” Said Aidan.

Marvin smirked.

“Is that so? Hah! I hope it followed you. I hope it wants to finish the job so that I can pierce its heart with my spear and sever its head with my axes.”

Though his face didn’t show it, hidden behind his cloak, Aidan’s hands shook with anger. He couldn’t bring himself to speak to Marvin about this, not right now.

“Then I hope you get your wish,” was all Aidan could say to him.

Aidan left Marvin to his practice and returned to Nova. Nova was leaning against a tree. Once she saw Aidan approach, she pushed off and walked toward him.

She opened her mouth to speak, only for Aidan to talk over her.

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine alone from here.”

Aidan’s words took Nova by surprise. She took a few seconds to recollect herself while Aidan simply walked past her.

“Wait! Where are you going? There are more things to see!”

“I am sure there are, but the journey here has been very tiring. For now, I would like to wind down and rest.”

“S-Sure, I can show you-”

“Alone,” Aidan said firmly.

Nova looked distressed, like she was trying to devise any reason that could get Aidan to change his mind.

Not used to rejection, are you? Too bad.

Aidan turned around and left her behind without hearing her out.

Left somewhat drained after what had happened, Aidan retreated to a more isolated part of Kulum. He found a tree to slump against and let himself slowly slide down until he touched the ground.

Dogs were watching him from every direction. Aidan had left Nova thinking it would help him recover, but now that he was alone, the stares of the hounds weighed unbearably heavy on him. Aidan held on to his pendant and prayed for strength from his father.

There’s no way I can play my music like this. I need to control my emotions better.

Aidan took his eyes away from his wardens and put them on the puppy assigned to him. Tabby was doing an overdramatic soldier march back and forth around Aidan. The puppy would sometimes steal glances at the other dogs before quickly returning to his march with even more vigor.

He’s really important to Novarac, huh?

---

Aidan arrived at the village center. Like in Talbareth, the entire area had been raised several meters into the air, creating an artificial hill from which Aidan could see the valley expanding to the east of the village and the forest and mountains to the west where Alaya was waiting.

One thing stood out to him above all. Not too far from the village center stood a large dark monument. Something about it made Aidan feel uneasy.

There was no hint of a resting ground anywhere I checked. That’s the last place to take a look at.

Aidan made a mental note to take a look at it later.

The buildings here looked well maintained, some even sporting multiple floors, something that should have been impossible as the demon’s corruption should have eroded anything past the first floor away.

Tabby strutted proudly in front of Aidan as the two entered the cracked street. There were dozens of dogs strewn about every corner, helping people with tasks or playing with children. Every one of them stopped to look at Tabby as he passed by.

The villagers themselves stared at Aidan for only a moment before returning to their duties. Perhaps they were truly friendlier than the people he met in Talbareth. It might have been due to being kept under such close watch by Novarac. Or, perhaps, it was the fact that they were affected less by the corruption.

Despite having the occasional dark veins protruding out of their flesh, they all looked lively and full of energy.

Aidan soon found the reason behind this. With Tabby leading him around, Aidan came across Nova sitting at a table. She was surrounded by villagers who came to her with produce bags in tow.

Aidan watched as people came with corrupted food, only to leave with healthy food. It was the same scene that had played out before him in Talbareth.

Nova’s capable of this too? What the hell’s going on in this place?!?

While cleansing some eggplants, Nova caught a glimpse of Aidan through the crowd. She finished off the food and then stood up from her table.

“Apologies, everyone, but I’m spent. I hope you do not mind if we cut today’s session short?” She asked with a smile.

Aidan heard her and instantly realized why she decided to stop. He braced himself out of reflex for the villagers to turn on him.

“Of course, no problem at all! You work hard enough as is, Nova!” One of the men reassured.

“It’s only thanks to you that we can live through the plague child’s curse!” Said another one.

Nova patiently waited for everyone to grab their bags and leave before approaching Aidan.

“Hello, Aidan. I trust you are feeling refreshed now?” Nova tilted her head slightly as she analyzed Aidan’s face. “Nevermind. I should have suspected that having Novarac’s entourage tailing you around would prevent that.”

Nova’s tone was noticeably less cordial than before.

“It’s pretty suffocating. I must look so weird to people here. Nobody else seems to mind the dogs.”

Nova chuckled.

“I think everyone’s just not used to seeing a new face around town.”

Nova stepped uncomfortably close to Aidan.

“Me included.”

Aidan quickly took a few steps back and spoke louder than he intended to.

“Yes! Of course, I mean, with that monster lurking nearby, I can imagine that’d be the case!”

Nova’s smile slipped for just a moment. Aidan couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong with her. Did her memories truly haunt her so much?

“Indeed… in which case, what are you here for, Aidan?”

Aidan quickly gave her the same explanation he had given to the soldiers. He breathed easy for a moment, relieved to be able to go through something he had rehearsed for so intensely.

“That’s a curious method of improvement. Most apprentices choose to study under their masters. I follow that guideline with Novarac, and it’s worked out very well for me.”

Nova stopped talking for a moment. She strongly considered stopping, but she couldn’t help herself.

“According to him, I’m already close to being on the same level as a newly licensed mage. I’m still eighteen, and those are generally only given out when you hit twenty-five! You need to master five spells and have strong control over the flow of the magic in your body….”

Aidan closed his eyes as Nova rambled on and on. The more she spoke of her achievements, the more she mocked him and his short, pathetic life.

"...Marvin’s only good enough to be a magically enhanced soldier, but even his improvement rate is out of the ordinary, especially for someone that hasn’t received formal training! I assume for music, perhaps the journey of improvement is not as linear as with magic; however, still, I think that-”

It was unbearable.

“That’s because yours still lives! I have nobody to learn from anymore!” He answered harshly.

Nova’s eye went wide.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t know! I let myself go again-I should have asked you first if you wanted to talk about it!” She apologized while beginning to hyperventilate.

Tabby growled at Aidan, and the other dogs started to approach him. Seeing that, Aidan rushed to help Nova calm down. He grabbed her by the shoulders and spoke as gently as he could.

“Don’t beat yourself up for it! It’s all long in the past! I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you. I’m sorry!”

Aidan could feel Nova’s body shaking as he held her. Her eye wasn’t staring at anything in particular, and she wasn’t responding to Aidan’s words.

After what felt like an eternity, Nova’s breathing calmed down. Once she recovered, she ripped herself out of Aidan’s hands and stepped backward away from him.

What the hell’s wrong with her?

“Ah…” Nova finally spoke again. “That must have been quite offputting. I understand if you want to leave me again.”

Aidan glanced at the dogs. They were all furious with him.

I’m not sure I’ll be safe if I do.

“Actually, I meant to ask you if you could show me around? I’m rather hungry, and I’d like to know where the tastiest food is.”

Aidan tried hard to sound convincing. Nova stared at him for a few seconds before smiling.

“I appreciate the gesture,” Nova laughed. “You’re in luck. I know someone whose food will certainly impress.”

Aidan smiled as genuinely as he could.

“Lead the way.”

---

Nova led Aidan to the part of the village center where all of the food vendors were located. Each one called out to Nova to come to eat from them.

The girl looked uncomfortable, trying her best to avert her gaze without offending any of those calling out to her. Aidan couldn’t wrap his head around her behavior.

While walking with her, Aidan couldn’t help but notice how she was tailed by almost as many dogs as he was. Novarac seemed to consider both highly important people to keep track of.

The two continued to look for that person until-

“Nova darling, is that you?” A female voice called out.

A cold shiver ran down Aidan’s back. He knew who Nova was talking about.

At the sound of her voice, Nova’s mood was instantly lifted. She quickly looked around for the source of the voice.

“Over here, dear!”

Nova turned around and instantly smiled as her eyes fell upon her. Nova dragged Aidan with her to a food stand located on the opposite end of the village center, a good distance away from all others.

The dogs that Novarac had tasked to watch over him whimpered and left rather than follow them there.

Its appearance was makeshift, and there was nothing visible on sale. It had a single table with some chairs set up fairly close to a cauldron held over an open fire. There was even a small tent with a sleeping bed set up close nearby.

The stand was helmed by a single, striking woman. Her beautiful purple hair danced in the wind. The sun shone brightly in the red gemstone adorning her necklace.

“There you are, little star shine.”

“Auntie!”

Nova hugged the woman tight. While holding Nova, the woman raised her head and looked at Aidan.

Aidan swallowed nervously as he met her golden eyes.

“Oh, and who is this?” Asked Rana.