TBATE - Not Bound By Fate

Part 42

Crossing to the other side of the portal, Sylvie and I arrived at the same bridge that led to Indrath Castle. The sights around us were just as beautiful as I remember them to be. All the nature around us, the vibrant colors and exotic appearances are still the same, like a painting brought to life. But one thing took me by surprise, the aether, it was so rich and dense and I began wondering how I never noticed it before.

Sylvie tugged on my sleeves and pulled me out of my musings and we started following Windsom and Seele once again. The walk gave the pair of Asuras just enough time to explain the basics of their society and hierarchy, but I tune out as it was information I was already privy to before.

Entering the castle Seele told us we were to meet Kezess early in the morning tomorrow and called for two maids who guided Sylvie and I to our respective rooms to rest.

The room given to me was more luxurious and opulent than any I have ever stayed in in either of my lives, although a bit tacky to my taste. It was bigger than even Tess's bedroom back in Zestier and that was not even including the closet and bathroom. Right in the middle was a bed big enough for Sylvie in her dragon form to use, which makes sense considering that there are bound to be dragons that prefer to sleep in their beast forms rather than human. The sheets and pillows were a dark amethyst in colour and the bed was facing the balcony guaranteeing a gentle and comfortable breeze throughout the night.

Without even bothering to check the rest of the room I laid down and got comfortable to get the last few hours of good sleep I could, if the last training is anything to go by.

Morning came and I woke up just as the night was turning into day. After a quick shower a maid knocked on the door saying she would take me to Kezess. Walking in silence I expected to be taken to the throne room but after a few minutes I realized that wasn't the case. Somewhere along the way Sylvie joined me and told me we were either going to a private garen where she was trained last time or Kezess's training room.

After a couple more minutes we were finally at the entrance of the private garden Sylvie mentioned. Entering it I was mesmerized by its beauty, it was truly something otherworldly. Something made possible only by the sheer amount of variety of fauna present, all trimmed and organized to perfection. As I observed the place while the maid guided us, I noticed that there plants and flowers not only native of Epheotus, but Dicathen and Alacrya as well.

I shifted my focus away from the garden when the maid who guided me and Sylvie here announced our presence to the lord of this land. Kezess was wearing pristine white robes with minimal jewelry, but the air around him wasn't that of an all powerful being who ruled over the world, far from it in fact. He looked calm and in peace inside this garden, something that caught me completely off guard but I didn't let it show.

The old dragon dismissed the maid and turned his attention to us, his gaze seemed to be on my very soul. The shades of purple in his eyes changed as he scrutinized our very beings. After what felt like an eternity the silence was finally broken by his unexpected question.

"Were the rooms assigned to you to your liking?" His face was inexpressive.

Getting out of her daze Sylvie answered. "Yes, it was quite comfortable." I nodded in agreement.

"Good, they will be yours during your stay here. If there is anything you wish to change let one of the maids know. Now let's move on to more pressing matters, the motive of your presence in this land." Sylvie and I nodded to say he could begin explaining.

"There will be three stages to your training, all with different instructors and you will only be allowed to move on to the next stage once the one responsible deems it that you are ready. The first part will be with the Thyestes clan, they will teach how to make the most out of your bodies." He paused to make sure we were paying attention.

"The second stage will be led by the Mappelia clan and take place on their territory. They will teach you how to survive and how to take advantage of the terrain." This bit of information caught my attention, as it was something completely unexpected. Windsom may have taught me something similar by throwing me into the middle of a forest, but I was very curious to see what the Hamadryads had to offer.

"And finally, for the final phase you will come back here to spar with the best warriors the Indrath clan has to offer and polish your mana arts." Kezess finished giving us our schedule for this trip.

"How long do we have to complete these steps?" I asked to gauge how much Kezess knew and was willing to tell us.

He took a moment to ponder on his answer before saying. "I believe there is at least a year and a half before Agrona starts sending in his forces in full. There will certainly be minor skirmishes during this period but nothing of significant threat will happen."

"I see, there is no time to waste then. When do we begin?" I said, keeping my voice leveled and serious.

"In an hour, your instructors will be here by then, so take your time to calm your minds. Someone will come pick you up when it's time." He began walking away but turned to say one last thing. "And Arthur, perform well enough and you will earn your spot in Epheotus among the other clans." With that he finally left the garden, leaving me and Sylvie to our own devices.

We spent the next forty minutes discussing how to approach the next few months and what Kezess' words implied. The last twenty or so minutes was me trying to figure out why the dragon lord felt so open. I knew some people had slightly different personality traits, but the being who just spoke to me felt so out of character. Maybe I just didn't know him well enough to make a judgement and Sylvie argued that maybe it was something to do with the garden we were in. She had noticed that her grandfather was a lot less intense here from previous experiences.

I decided to shelve the thought for later when the maid who brought us here walked up to Sylvie and I and informed us that she would be guiding us to the training grounds of the castle. Hopefully Kordri would be teaching me again as there was still much I wanted to learn from him and I always found our spars quite satisfying despite how one-sided they were.

Sylvie seemed excited as this was her first time having formal hand to hand combat training, meaning she would'n need to rely on just my memories to practice.

All in all, we were up to a good start in the land of deities and with new opportunities to learn, we would make sure Agrona regretted even considering picking a fight with us.