The Chronicles of a Scalebound Sage: Wandmaker Vol.2

WM [8] Don't Live In The Past

Tanisha and Joha's requests was oddly simple from Bjorn's perspective. Tanisha requested gold, a new wagon and horses, alchemy supplies and equipment, and a new polearm to replace the one she had lost. On the other hand, Joha wanted only one thing: for them to send a letter to his homeland for him. Joha's request was met with silence between the two, which caused a brief deliberation between Sigrun and her Hands before the Princess could accept. Everyone gasped at the fact that she even accepted the request at all.

Sigrun looked at Joha and Tanisha with a smile. "Once everything has been gathered for your requests, Sif, I will send someone to gather you for your inspection. Joha, when you have your letter, please hand it to the person delivering Tanisha's request. You have my word: your letter will be safely delivered to the demon continent, but please understand that we are at war, and an expedition may take time to organize. For now, you all are guests of the Fort Palace, and your belongings will be moved here."

"As long as it is delivered, Your Majesty, I will be eternally grateful."

Tanisha and Bjorn were given their room and a personal maid in the Fort Palace. Even so, they all returned to the Demilune Inn with the servants to retrieve the remaining Isi survivors. The Princess allowed the Isi to burn pyres for the dead. Most of the bodies had already been burned during the cleanup of the town, so it was mainly symbolic for those left to mourn. There was one body though and a small goblin family, a rakshasa tiger demon, a cernunnos and a True Hydra all said their final goodbyes to Helina.

It had been a rough few weeks, so when Bjorn finally could let his guard down, he felt exhausted. The Fort Palace was by no exaggeration one of the most secure and safe locations on the continent. Bjorn could not help but feel a little let down that he wouldn't be able to claw Ingrid and Loki in half for the pain and suffering they caused. To the wendigo, failing a Show of Power was akin to social suicide. She was ostracized and would likely soon be divorced from the Salstar name.

There was a shaming ritual like the shiagaunt for spouses that shamed the family, and publicly, their names would be dragged through the mud. The former Sword of the Salstars would soon lose her noble title and family name and be like any other war mage on the frontline. The likelihood they would put her somewhere she would outright die was unlikely. Ingrid was still a mighty and skilled mage.

"You finally ready for this?" Failsafe asked.

Bjorn took a deep breath to calm his nerves. It didn't work. He knew he was about to see something that would haunt him. Ever since the Queen of a Thousand Heads called him the Sunderer of the Angelic Throng, he had a feeling—not a memory—that the name was something he deeply regretted once.

Bjorn laid his head down. "Yes, no more excuses. Let's do it."

He closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep almost instantly. This was the first time he willingly entered his previous self's memories. The sensation was odd. All of who he was as Bjorn was stripped away. He was made a blank canvas, free of emotion, memory, attachment, and everything else that made him Bjorn.

Then, the emptiness that was him was filled as seventeen years of memory as Isin rushed to fill the empty vessel. His life as a villager in a small human settlement, safe from the outside monsters by the grace of the Divine People from the sky. He had learned that his father was one of those Divine people. He was Nephilim, the child of man and the Divine.

Isin had always thought the Divine People, the Angels, were their makers and saviors. They protected them and guided humanity with love and compassion. That is all his father had ever shown him since meeting him. Since the Gate that had protected them failed, monsters flooded in from the corrupted land. His father, Bazaath, killed the monsters and remade the Gate when all hope was lost. He healed those that could be saved and mourned those that could not.