The Infinite Bk. 04 Ch. 03

"Virso delacura ulinpui lent nei." Noah and Valia recited another greeting in Old Elvish, kneeling with their arms crossed over their chests. Through no small effort, Noah performed it without a grimace.

"Welcome back, Lady Valia, to Sylphtoria. It is good to see you with us once more," the queen said with an angelic voice.

"You're too kind, Your Majesty. It is a pleasure to be here, to stand beneath the trees with fellow elves. This country is still as beautiful as I remember."

"Unfortunately, you do not come with good tidings. You've come back to us, hoping your brother has done the same, correct?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. He has lost his mind and fled Uther, taking most of the royal family's Enochian relics with him. We don't know what he wants them for, but he may do the same to Sylphtoria. Even if he doesn't, hopefully, the key to finding him is here. My companion and I want to track him down and restore his sanity."

"I'm afraid you are too late. Several relics have already gone missing from the various families and even my own collection. Only someone familiar with our ways could pull off such a daring robbery. If your brother is indeed behind this, then he truly has lost his mind to think he can get away with it. What was it that drove him to madness?"

"A little over a year ago, I was assisting him in a magic experiment, one that would let him see the vast expanse of the universe." Valia paused for a moment. "Something went horribly wrong, or perhaps horribly right, as Valon ended up crossing a line he was not meant to. His mind was stretched until it snapped.

If you looked into his eyes, you would see the damage that has been done. Now I don't know where he is, what he's planning, or what he is capable of. Please, my brother is sick and needs help. Whatever he has done wrong, I will do all in my power to make right." The more she spoke, the more fear and anxiety could be felt in her voice.

"I recall him wielding great intellect and power. For someone like him to go rogue, this is indeed troubling. If he is as mad and powerful as you say, have you considered that he might be beyond saving? My heart aches for your suffering and his, but perhaps all that can be done now is to put him down like a rabid dog before he can harm anyone else."

Valia took a deep breath, staring at the queen with unflinching resolve. "He is my twin brother and has been by my side for hundreds of years. Do you expect me to give up on him so easily? Noah and I promised each other that we would find him, even if we had to go to the ends of the earth, and if I should lose hope..." She glanced at Noah. "I trust him to get me back on track."

The queen turned her emerald eyes to Noah, and he felt the power of her mana weighing down on him like a lead apron. More than that, he felt her scrutinizing him with inhuman awareness, her gaze piercing his body as though he was made of glass.

"Yours is a noble endeavor, but there is a problem: the human at your side. His aura makes my hair stand on end."

As he spoke, the queen's guard encircled Noah and Valia with their swords drawn, moving with inhuman speed and grace. Valia muttered a swear in Old Elvish and instinctively reached for a sword that wasn't there. Noah couldn't walk, and they were unarmed and surrounded by the best warriors in the country. Their choices were few and unpleasant. Though not her forte, she had experience in unarmed combat, and Noah could always turn invisible, but as she ran the simulations through her mind, the chances of success continued to drop. Still, she protected Noah.

"Touch him and die," she hissed.

Noah, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm, and prostrated before the queen.

"Your Majesty, I do not come here expecting trust, indulgences, or even kindness. I have only the meager hope that you will hear me out, and to receive such an honor, I humbly offer my life, for you to end or spare however you wish."

"And what is your interest in this predicament, young knight? Are you doing this for her sake, his sake, or your own?"

"All three, Your Majesty. I wish to help Valia regain her lost family, Valon his lost sanity, and to find answers that I have long sought. I have a curse I must break, and magic of a nature I cannot identify. I've come to Sylphtoria to seek the wisdom of the elves, whether it be Valon or you. I beg you for guidance."

"You think yourself deserving of a wish granted by a queen?"

"If I am not, I will do whatever I must to earn it."

"You aren't even worthy to stand in Her Majesty's presence." Noah and Valia turned around, finding Aithorn behind them. "After the things you've done in Uther, even Sylphtoria's dungeons are too good for you."

"Sir Aithorn, good morning," Noah said calmly. "Do you mind? I'm speaking with the queen."

"You never should have come here," the elf said coldly. "I've already informed the queen of your crimes. You'll find no aid or sanctuary, just punishment."

"I respectfully disagree." Noah turned back to the queen. "Now, Your Majesty, as you were saying..."

Enraged, Aithorn spun Noah around and put his spear to his throat. "The only reason I'm not killing you now is that I wouldn't want to offend her sight."

"But that brings into question why you didn't just kill me earlier. Unless you reached the city an hour ago, you probably could have sprung this ambush at any moment after we arrived. The best time would have been when I was by the fountain or sound asleep.

Instead, you allowed me to come here, into the very heart of your nation. Why in the world would you let someone like me in this room? Unless, of course, the decision was not yours to make."

"Bastard..."

Noah once more turned to the queen. "If you knew my crimes, you would not have me walk all the way up here just to arrest or execute me. You invited us because you wanted to talk, just as we do. Sir Aithorn spoke to you of more than simply my actions if Uther. He told you something that piqued your interest. Please, Your Majesty, I'd like to hear what's on your mind."

"I'm weighing your life, that's on my mind. My nephew's warnings have not fallen on deaf ears, Sir Noah. The things he has spoken of do not paint you as someone who can be trusted."

"Then why am I still alive? If you have something you wish to say or ask, please, just speak the words."

The queen gave a flick of her wrist and the floor beneath Noah began to shift. Saplings shot up from the ground around him like pikes, nearly impaling him as they grew with impossible speed. Noah was left with no room, surrounded on all sides by a grove of trees, holding him in place like he had been chained to a rack.

Valia instinctively stepped forward to intervene, only to be reminded of her sword's absence, but Noah showed no sense of alarm. If anything, being restrained in such a way amused him. This was certainly more interesting than just having some handcuffs slapped on.

"You assume too much, boy. Do not think you are the first smooth-talking human to come in here, seeking to exploit the power and knowledge of the elves."

"The power you speak of is truly fascinating and fearsome. If you wanted me dead, you could have done it at any time. Now, instead of silencing me, you've simply sealed my movement, no different than when my weapons were confiscated before I could be allowed to travel through the forest.

In my current state, do you feel comfortable enough now to grant me an audience? Regardless of what you have been told, I come to you unarmed, wounded, and now restrained. You've established that I'm not a threat, so may we talk now? If this truly is a nation of elves, then what good is immortality if you don't have the time to hear my side of the story?"

"Very well. Explain to me why I shouldn't hand you over to Uther, or kill you where you stand."

Noah took a deep breath. Keeping his true self hidden in all his past lives had been second nature, but if there was ever a place where he could cast off the disguise of humanity, then why not here? What world would be better than this?

"I am Noah, the Wandering Spirit."

Thus, Noah regaled everyone with stories of his travel across the multiverse. He spoke of the nature of his curse and described the lives and worlds he had experienced. He kept his magic hidden, but told the queen of his arrival in Uther, his conquering of the dungeon crab, enrollment in the knight academy, and the details of his feud with Seraph and Galvin.

He ensured all those listening knew what the princes and their friends had done to earn his wrath, what kind of people they were, and how they had wounded him. Finally, he recounted the details of their punishments, so the elves understood precisely how the foolish mortals suffered for their arrogance in the face of an ancient being.

When he finished speaking, everyone was quiet, caught between awe, horror, and skepticism. Noah's story was difficult to both believe and refute, as every statement he made could have been false, but if he intended to deceive everyone around him, wouldn't he have used an easier lie?

As elves, they knew that one's apparent age and real age could be as far apart as the earth and the sun. Was he an example of such a being? Did his round ears really hide the eons he had lived? Even in Sylphtoria, someone of his age was unthinkable.

"Now, Queen Elisandra, hearing all that, what say you?" Noah asked.

Elisandra stood up from the throne. "I'll admit, when Leuca mentioned your nickname, I was curious, but I could not imagine the truth would be so complex. If I am to trust you, I need to know for sure that you are who say you are."

She approached Noah with silent steps, an image of elven splendor and beauty. Everyone held their breath as she slowly reached out between the bars of his wooden cage and brushed her fingers against his cheek.

"The power of druidism is to feel the vigor of life around you, to experience its flow like water rushing against your hand or the wind kissing your face. I can sense the life of the trees which bind you, flowing like blood, just as I can sense your...."

She suddenly seemed taken back, and all the elves became tense from that small tremor. She stared at Noah with piercing eyes, and he returned the gaze without fear.

"Incredible, your life force is so developed, like a tree with rings beyond count. It has been shaped across eons, not as mortal hands shape clay into simple pottery, but as waves carve stone cliffs and the wind sculpts the mountains. This is not the soul of a simple man, it is as deep as the ocean and vast as the sky. You truly are the Wandering Spirit."

Noah gratefully lowered his head, and she noticed him trembling. "To finally meet someone who can see what I am, rather than taking it on a matter of faith... Throughout my endless history, most have doubted my story, some have half-heartedly believed, but you are the only one to vindicate me. Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you. Thank you."

The queen snapped her fingers and the wooden restraints holding Noah receded back into the floor. "Everyone, lower your weapons. We stand in the presence of an ancient being, and he is not our enemy. Sir Noah, while not shared, our goals align, and we must work together to achieve them. I wish to see our relics returned to us, and you and Lady Valia are our best hope. To my knowledge, Valon is not within Sylphtoria, but if he is, then there may be a way to find him. It is a ritual that can only be performed under a full moon, with the next due in a fortnight. You will stay as our guests until then."

"I am eternally grateful, My Lady. Then, with your permission, I would like to spend that time studying elven literature and speaking with your great sages so that I may find my answers."

"Elven knowledge is not so easily given, Sir Noah. Though you may not be an enemy of our kingdom, you have yet to prove yourself an ally. You must earn our faith before you can receive our privileges. I'm sure you can understand why I remain wary."

"I understand. If we find Valon and return your stolen relics, will that be enough?"

"Despite the tragedy that has befallen Valon, he has committed a grave crime against us and remains a dire threat. If you return the relics, that will simply right Valon's wrongs and earn his pardoning as an act of equivalent exchange. If you wish to study our secrets, that requires another act on your part."

"Name the mountain, and I shall move it."

"I can see you struggling to stand. You are in no condition to move anything, much less a mountain. First, we must tend to your wound and give you time to rest."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I am capable of fixing my leg. I simply require some simple tools."

----------

"Are you ready?" Valia asked again, standing over Noah in the kitchen of their temporary home.

"Valia, if we wait any longer, these tourniquets will send a blood clot to my brain," said Noah, lying on the table without pants.

"Here I go. Zodiac: Avagath."

A silver magic circle encompassed the two of them, and she placed her hand on Noah's leg, already bound tight to lessen the imminent bleeding. Her physical senses were raised to their maximum, letting her feel the arrowhead lodged in his thigh even clearer than he could. She memorized its location, shape, direction, and angle.

"Zodiac: Teez."

In Valia's hand, she held a large bush knife, elven-made. Pristine, gleaming, and honed to a razor's edge, it glowed with an aura of mana as she further enhanced its cutting power. After sterilizing the blade, table, and everything else involved in the procedure, there was nothing left to do but take the plunge.

With a deep breath and a steady hand, she brought down the knife and severed Noah's leg. Valia's slice was perfect, a surgeon's dream. The blade separated muscle and bone like a laser, but without the benefit of cauterization. Though the tourniquets applied above and below the arrowhead's position helped lessen the mess, blood spurted from the wound and pooled on the wooden table under Noah.

He had taken morphine and other potions to dull the pain, but insisted on being awake and aware during the process. Valia was no stranger to blood, seeing it pour from friend and foe alike on the battlefield, but still, doing this to him left her trembling frightfully.

"Valia, focus. We can't both go into shock," he said.

"Right, right. Ok, I'll remove the arrowhead."

She turned to his severed leg, leaking blood like a fat leech. She had cut as close to the arrowhead as possible and could see the layer of inflamed tissue surrounding it. She removed the tissue with a smaller knife, exposing the metal blade, then pried it out. Upon hearing it bounce on the table, Noah grasped his leg and held the two bleeding ends together. He rotated it like the dial of a safe, adjusting its position to line up the bone, veins, and muscles perfectly.

"I got it. Now apply the first potion and then remove the tourniquets."

He couldn't afford to take his hands off his leg, so Valia worked around him to pour a healing potion on the cut, mending the skin and the muscles close to the surface. She then severed the bindings around his leg, letting his blood flow freely, but though it didn't leave his body, his skin darkened from it pooling beneath the skin.

He then drank another potion, one of the most powerful in his arsenal, the kind he hoped he'd never have to use. By undoing the tourniquets, its healing properties could flow unhindered and repair the damage. The tissue in his leg knitted itself back together, and the arteries, veins, muscles, and his femur reconnected.

"Ok," he said, releasing his held breath and dripping with sweat. "It's good. It's done."

"Don't you ever, EVER, ask me to do anything like that again," Valia warned, in a similar state.

"Trust me; I'm in no rush to repeat that experience." He then took her hand, wet with his blood, and kissed it. "And I am truly grateful for your help."

"Well, I'm just glad you're alive. Now, you are to spend the rest of the day in bed. I don't want you walking around on that leg until we're sure the potion has done everything it can."

"After weeks on horseback, I'm not going to complain about a chance to be lazy. The day has just started, and I'm already worn out." They cleaned themselves and the table, and Valia helped Noah to his bed.

"You stay put. I'm going to go out into the city."

"Gonna catch up with some old friends?"

"Well, it's not every day I blow through Sylphtoria. Besides, the queen doesn't know about Valon's whereabouts, but maybe someone here does. Unless you would rather I stay with you?"

"I'll be fine. There are already enough elves surveilling this place without you perched over me, watching me sleep."

"But you look so cute when you sleep," she teased. She then leaned down and kissed him. "Get some rest. I'll be back soon."

Leaving Noah to rest, she set out into the city, walking across familiar bridges and walkways. After living in Uther for so long, being among fellow elves was a wonderful feeling. As a dark elf, she still stood out, but the pointed ears all around her were comforting. Little had changed since she passed through Sylphtoria, and familiar faces bore no wrinkles.

Like in the forest below, various edible plants had been grown throughout the city. Through druidism, branches bore multiple different fruits, nuts, and berries. Down on the forest floor, vegetables grew wild and free. Numerous species could typically only survive in specific climates, but they flourished side by side, ready for harvest year-round. Wherever Valia strolled, food was always within reach.

The abundance of nourishment freed the elves to pursue their passions and master the various trades. Valia passed by homes and gardens, with the inhabitants reading the great works of ages past or creating pieces of breathtaking art. Everything from metal to glass was crafted into sculptures and decorations and displayed among the branches.

On the forest floor, Valia stopped by the few blacksmithing workshops in the city to see what the elven craftsmen were working on. The forges wheezed with the pumping of bellows, and crude iron was warped into elegant steel, using anvils and hammers that were older than most countries. These workshops were all communal, free for anyone to use at any time. Here, blacksmithing was a hobby instead of a job. If not made for personal use, crafts were free to whoever was in need for the benefit of the city.

She found a few old friends and acquaintances, though none of them knew Valon's whereabouts. She eventually came to a rest at one of many balconies, leaning against the vine railing and gazing across the city while enjoying the sweetness of the air. Elves had a natural affinity for plant magic, and even Valia, resigned only to her Zodiac abilities, felt at home beneath the ancient trees. But despite this Eden, she could not ease the dread and sorrow in her heart.

She kept glancing over to the space next to her, wishing to see her brother leaning against the railing with a smile. After all, that was where he had spent the last 700 years, right next to her, since they were born. They'd had each other's backs through thick and thin. In the bloodiest battles, the worst disasters, and most heart-wrenching moments of her life, she could always turn and see him right there.

She felt him the same way she'd still feel an amputated limb, and the empty air felt so cold that she even shivered. Maybe it was hope that kept those sensations alive, hope that stand beside her again one day, and she wouldn't have to face the endless ages alone. She wanted it to be hope. She hoped it was hope.

Valia clung to that hope as tightly as she could. She tried to remember Valon as he was before the accident and to forget the hollowness of his eyes the last time she saw him. She sealed away her memories of his gaunt despair and madness, refused to ponder if he had already perished, and directed all her strength to imagine him returning to his old self. Someday, they would be reunited. For now, all she could do was find solace in the one merit of her solitude and cry without anyone seeing her.