The Lone Wanderer

“How?!” Galahad asked, unable to fathom how Nesha and Percy could have possibly taken a single Green out. Let alone four of them.

Even Archibald was taken aback, though he did know a little more than his son. Percy hadn’t mentioned Micky earlier, but the crow should have progressed a lot after all these years. Between that, and all the other shocking secrets Percy had claimed from the stars above their heads, it wasn’t impossible for him to have caught a Green by surprise. Besides, at the end of the day…

“Does it even matter?” he asked.

Whether Percy had poisoned them in their sleep, or faced them head on in a duel, the end result was the same. No Green besides Elaine and Mordred had contributed as much to their family over the years. However Percy had done this, it was definitely enough to warrant him the last petal.

“Do you know their names?” Galahad asked, still having trouble believing it.

“That one is from an earth user called Broose. We actually killed him over a year ago. As for the other three, they are much more recent. They belonged to Dranold, Grian and Rambert.”

Everyone drew a sharp breath upon hearing that. Naturally, they’d been in this war long enough to have a decent idea of their enemies’ ranks. The difference between killing a random Green and taking down Rambert – of all people – couldn’t be overstated. The young man had already slain plenty of their own mages.

“Are you certain?” Galahad pressed again.

“Of course. Pale guy with red hair. Had the bloodline and a fire affinity. Fought by using lots of small explosions on his body to propel himself. I took him down personally.”

“Anyway, is that enough to justify my petal?” Percy asked, seemingly oblivious to their inner turmoil.

“Honestly, Percy, I would have given you one regardless. While I respect Galahad’s opinion, I don’t share it. Giving us Circulation is more than enough in my eyes. And now, I doubt anyone else will dare complain. Not after the news of your accomplishments spread.” Archibald said.

Percy nodded, exhaling in relief. Seeing his grandson work so hard for this opportunity, Archibald felt his heart clench.

“Anyway, how is the war going?” Percy asked, changing the topic. “We were pretty cut off from news over the past two years.”

Next, the young man proceeded to talk about his and Nesha’s stay in Bogside town, and how they had kept their heads low while staging one ambush after another in the dark depths of the nearby swamp. Of course, he glossed over many details, though he did share enough for everyone to understand the sheer danger the two of them had faced.

“The situation is a little calmer on our end, probably thanks to your contributions too.” Galahad explained. “Little by little, we gnawed at their forces, eking out lots of small victories here and there. Overall, they lost more people than we did, forcing them to fall behind the river. Nowadays, they’ve really slowed down their offensive, probably worried we might start invading their own side of the province next.”

Percy spent a minute or two digesting the information, before Archibald spoke again.

“So, what are your current plans?” he asked. “Are you only here for the lotus?”

“Wait, what?!” Elaine exclaimed, clearly not having considered that. “You’re going to leave again?!”

“Afraid so.” Percy sighed. “Look, Elaine… One thing I’ve come to realize over the past few years is that I like travelling and seeing new places, whether that’s on Remior or elsewhere. Besides, I can’t grow while holing up here, nor do I want to bring you guys any more trouble than I already have.”

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“But you just got here!” she said, not quite ready to hear this.

“Hey, I’m not going right away. We’ll be here for another month or so. It’s plenty of time to catch up!” he shrugged.

“Where are you going next?” Archibald cut in, still curious about his grandson’s plans.

“I originally wanted to snatch some elixirs from House Tantalus to restock our stash… I’m not sure if that will be possible, but I do know the next best place to get elixirs from…” Percy said. “And it’s also conveniently close to the best place to drink them.”

Galahad slammed his fist on the desk upon hearing that.

“Are you seriously going to keep pushing your luck like this?!”

“Hey, we are already wanted criminals.” Percy shrugged. “What’s the harm in breaking another law or two?”

“Wait, what are they talking about?” Nesha asked, joining the conversation for the first time.

Archibald rolled his eyes at the sight. Evidently, that irresponsible grandson of his hadn’t even brought his girlfriend up to speed.

“You’re talking about the Thirsty Valley, aren’t you?” Archibald asked, getting a nod back. “That’s a bold move. Then again, you’ve never shied away from those, have you?”

Nesha drew a sharp breath upon hearing that, putting two and two together. Though Elaine still seemed confused.

“Grandpa, can you please explain what you’re all talking about?” she asked.

He sighed.

“As you know, the fastest way to advance is using the elixirs.” he said, Elaine bobbing her head in agreement.

“Strictly speaking, the same thing is true for the members of the Divine Order. That said, they have a way to speed the process up even further.”

“Speed up?! You mean they can cleanse their cores faster than everyone else?!”

“Yes and no.” Archibald said, before elaborating. “There is a special location on Remior, where time passes many times faster than everywhere else. Unfortunately, this asset has a limited capacity, which is why it isn’t publicly available. The Divine Order reserves this place for their own members – as well as the people of the Divine Root. Of course, it doesn’t give them an advantage in terms of their lifespan – spending 100 years inside the Thirsty Valley still brings them a century closer to death. But it does allow them to advance faster than the rest of Remior.”

“Or, more importantly, the rest of the universe.” Galahad added. “After all, the gods of other races are the Divine Order’s opponents. Not mortals like us.”

“Based on what I know now, I’m guessing this place is probably a Decree.” Percy pitched in.

It was a well-known fact that Phoebe wasn’t the first titan to lead the Divine Order – though most people on Remior didn’t really understand the implications of such a title. The previous titans had either died or otherwise disappeared by now, but their Decrees should still be around, at least according to the information Percy had just revealed.

“It’s possible.” Archibald agreed. “Based on what Guinevere once told me, Remior has had three titans in total. The first was Iapetus, the owner of a life affinity. I bet he is the reason why we have bloodlines. As for the second one – Phoebe’s predecessor – he was Kronos, the owner of a time affinity…”

“I don’t like this, Percy…” Elaine muttered, her voice shaky. “It sounds like an unnecessary risk.”

But Percy shook his head.

“It’s a risk, but not an unnecessary one. The Divine Root is already looking for us, and they’ll find us eventually. I can’t afford to wait entire decades or centuries to advance. Besides, the city near the Thirsty Valley is a good place to buy elixirs and other materials I need for my projects.”

Elaine didn’t seem particularly happy about his explanation, though she let it go for now, apparently unwilling to spoil the limited time they had left with petty arguments. Next, everyone agreed to bring the meeting to an end, having already covered all the urgent matters. Galahad went off to tend to his own responsibilities, while Elaine took Nesha out to show her around the mansion. Only Percy remained in Archibald’s office, saying he had a few more things to discuss with him.

“How’s Micky?” Archibald asked once they were alone.

“Better than ever.” Percy smiled. “He can speak normally now, and he is currently teaching himself how to survive without as much food.”

Archibald nodded.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“A couple of favours, actually.” Percy said, before elaborating. “I’m teaching Nesha Circulation, but the physical training is taking forever. I was hoping you could help her out for a few weeks – if you’re not busy with the war, that is.”

“It’s fine. Like we mentioned earlier, things are a bit quieter right now. Galahad can take care of things for a while.”

“You’re the best, Grandpa!” Percy said, trying to hug him again.

Archibald pushed him back, rolling his eyes at his grandson’s antics.

“What’s the other thing?”

Percy flashed him a sheepish grin.

“Well, about that… Do you think I could borrow a clone or two from you? And… uhm… when I say borrow… Sure, you can have them back after I’m done with them, but I don’t think you’ll want them.”

“What for?” Archibald creased his brow at the odd request.

“I want to plant a few magical mushrooms on them.”