(Edwards)

I watched the fog of my breath leave my lips and travel through the air as I walked down the many streets of Lign Aloes.

I had expected this day to come, but the level of it had reached beyond my dreams.

‘What about you? Was this how you pictured this day, Shezmu?’ I played off a laugh I was unable to contain as a sigh. ‘No, you had imagined being here for it.’

The slight hiss of snowflakes poofing out of existence as they evaporated against the minor coating of mana I wore to keep myself warm, was the only sound to accompany my rounds around the city.

Every street I went down, every path I took. From the blacksmiths shops that would ring loudly throughout the capital, the bakery’s that would fill the air with an aroma of fresh baked goods for miles, the usual areas where children played with each other, all the way down to sidewalks filled with people going to work, or just catching up in normal conversations. It was all silent now.

‘This is the love this continent shows for their first Paladin, even after death you still find ways to make me envious of you Kalan.’ Rounding a corner that led me to the center of the capital, and the place where the largest tree on the continent stood.

‘It’s fitting that all first Paladins who fell in the line of duty would be buried under this tree.’ I thought as I began walking towards the oak wood podium that stood in front of me. ‘But it’s even more fitting that I should be the one to send you off.’ Finishing this long awaited walk.

As I looked down from the podium I could see all the emotions of this place, painted like a canvas for all to see. Many cried, many showed their doubt about the news on their faces, and there were even some that seemed rather cheerful..

I suppressed my smile, but I couldn’t help thinking that I wished I could cement this image in my head forever. It was truly a masterpiece that only the greatest of tragedy could create.

‘I’m sure wherever you are, you’re probably cursing me from your grave. But you have to understand Kalan, it was never anything personal. There’s always two sides to every war, the winners and the losers. I just chose to side with the winners before the losers' struggles began.

.

I rested my hands on the podium and with a deep, meaningful, frown I looked into as many of their eyes as I could. I cleared my throat a few times and wiped my dry eyes with a handkerchief. Once ready for my favorite part, I took a deep breath in.

“Words can not describe the weight I feel on my heart, as we gather here today… I know many of us can’t believe this day has come, Kalan was a light to all of us, a beam of hope on even the darkest of nights, truly he embodied the symbol of Holy Light for all that this Church has built and prides itself on. He served this great Church for decades and there’s no soul who could even come close to filling the void that has been left behind by his untimely demis-.”

I let my voice break at the end and allowed myself a moment to ‘settle down’. My expression changed to one of boundless anger and I clenched my fist and flared my mana, causing the weaker in the crowd to stumble. I took several deep breaths and calmed my mana. I continued my speech with more vigor and emotion behind my now booming voice.

“But… thanks to Kalan’s sacrifice, the very foundation for which this Church stands remains unbroken, and thanks to that, this Church will continue to persevere as it always has. No, as it always will.”

I paused as claps and shouts of agreement rang out from the crowd, only slightly annoyed that they had interrupted my moment. “ I won’t pretend like Kalan and I were close friends, but from the little I did know of him, it was easy to tell he was a great man, a great leader, a great husband, and an even better father. I think it would be safe to say, no one in history was more deserving of the First Paladin than him. Now, I welcome all those with parting words for this great man to please come to the stand, and say your piece.” I turned to face the tree myself and bowed deeply towards it. “Thank you, Kalan.”.

I moved into the shadows of the tree and watched as the line that had quickly formed, way before my speech was done, began to come onto the stage one by one to share.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I listened to stories of all kinds, from all the ways Kalan had greeted some when they met him, the families he had saved, the great service and banquets he had brought to this capital, and so much more well into the night.

But now as the crowd stood gathered under the tree, everyone watched as the bodiless casket was lowered into the dirt and the legacy of Kalan Indarus along with it.

‘I suppose I should thank that girl as well, but I suppose she’s dead as well. However if she hadn’t been brought in by Kalan, how long would we have had to wait before he would have left the capital? It was truly a blessing that she was found by Kalan, that she finally offered an opportunity for a chink in his armor to be made. It was truly an unfortunate life you lived, everything that happened with your family, thinking you had found a home with Kalan and the Church just for it to be ripped from you again before death. But in the end, despite the amount of potential you and your friend held, you were both just pawns in a bigger game. I had to accept that they see me as a pawn as well and that they might even have plans for my own death in the future. It’s not surprising for me though. I know where I stand in this world, and it’s not next to them, all I can hope for is my name to be engraved in history by being a part of the side who will win the upcoming war.’ Touching the casket, before I began my long walk home through the dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Sylas)

My fist slammed into the stone road over and over. I didn’t use any mana to protect it, so each impact sent fresh waves of searing pain up my arm as bones cracked.

This isn’t how it was supposed to go! I was the one that was meant to defeat Kalan, to one day be his rival. The dream and my goal that I’ve had since before I had become a Paladin. He was always there through it all, always supposed to be there.

Even back then, Kalan was so widely respected, not just by strength but the way he carried himself and treated others.

It was almost as if Kalan had been crafted by the gods to perform this job specifically, how could any Paladin not hope to reach even close to him.

But this isn’t the way it should be, why are you dead?! You were supposed to live, live until I could finally best you.

‘There must be something he isn’t telling us.’ My eyes locked onto Edwards as he slowly began to seep back into the shadows of the deathly silent capital.

‘Well if I want answers, I’ll just ask the source.’ My body was infused with mana before I even came to the decision myself and I went after him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had been keeping my distance for a little while after realizing Edwards wasn’t heading home, but I still wasn’t sure where he could be going.

But as a small park came into view I realized exactly where we were.

In this park, snow covered the usually lush green grass, the single tree in the middle of park was stripped of its leaves left with only snow covering the branches and icicles hanging from the tips, and four oak wood park benches sat at the end of every smooth stone path that led to the tree. This was also the place I first met Kalan. I didn’t know it then when I was just turning ten, but it would also become the day I met the man I admire most and the one I would declare my rival.

“You knew I was following you?” I calmly, well, as calmly as I could, asked as I stepped out of the shadows.

“You were never good at keeping yourself hidden, or in control.” He said conversationally, not bothering to turn around. He walked towards a snow covered bench and used a sweep of his mana to clear a spot for himself before sitting down and finally addressing me properly. “May I ask why you were following me, fourth Paladin.” He nearly hissed my title at me.

“I want the truth, what really happened to Kalan?” Standing a few feet back from the park bench he sat on.

“I told you already, seven times now, Kalan is dead.”

“Saying that means nothing! Where is his body, Edwards? How could you possibly know he’s dead without seeing it yourself. What was in that god's damned report that you refuse to show even us Paladins.”

“The report was sent directly to me from a very trusted, and extremely confidential source, and I was directly ordered to be the only one to see it.” He shrugged. “Unlike you, I would not dare defy or insult the higher ups of this church and ignore the orders I was given. Surely yo…”

“Enough with the bullshit Edwards! There’s no way that report would only be ordered for only you to see! What are you hiding?!” Cutting him off as my aura raged, my mana heart near beating in anger at his flippancy.

“What are you trying to imply? That I had something to do with his death? You should be careful Paladin and think before you cross a line you can’t come back from. I won’t be as kind as Kalan and leave you with a light beating.” Edwards was standing in a fraction of a second and somehow appeared to be towering over me despite his lower stature.

“Are you threatening me?” I questioned as I let my mana veins begin to flow.

“Surely you jest, I’m merely warning you to calm down before you make a mistake you’ll most certainly regret. You were always a hot head, always so unreasonable. Do you want to know why, no matter what you did, you could never reach Kalan? It’s because you’re too emotional, you’ve never stopped once to think about how your actions or words may affect someone else. You just do as you please, only concerned about what it means for you. I understand you’re in pain, and grieving, in your own, special way. But do you think everyone else isn’t? We all lost something today, Kalan was my friend and you would dare stand here on the day of his death and accuse me of plotting to kill him? You need to grow up Sylas, there’s others in this world besides you. The sooner you realize this, the better off everyone else will be.” He finished as he began to walk away.

“I-”

“Save it Sylas, we’re done here. Come find me when you can have an adult conversation without resorting to blaming others.”

As I watched him disappear into the night, it was only then I truly realized just how cold it was and how alone I felt.

As I walked over to sit on the bench he had just left, memories flooded my mind. All the time I had spent with Kalan. From training under him as a kid, going out on missions with him, fighting a plethora of different monsters with him, and even the time he was crowned as the first Paladin. I realized just how much Edward’s words rang true. This entire time I had only cared about myself and my goals, while Kalan was always caring for everyone else and barely giving any time for himself. I realized long ago that I couldn’t be like him and tried to bring him down to my level with cheap provocation and insults. But even then, he always forgave me…

‘I never deserved to stand by you did I? No, I don’t need you to answer that question, I know the answer already. I know this is too late, but Kalan, I’m sorry.’ Pushing my palms into my eyes as a stream of tears began to flow, as I let the first place we met also be our final departure.