The door to the master laboratory at the top of the southeast tower of Castle White swung open as Mage Olda and Raghav entered the room, and the echoing of the noon bell rang throughout the city.
The young man closed the door behind himself as he leaned on it. "I am sorry, Mage Olda. I just felt that they needed some time, and I thought I would ask someone to leave with me."
Before him was a large laboratory, with a giant furnace in the middle upon which dangled a glass pot, and from it came out five glass pipes going to different glass pots in the room, placed on different desks with different items and books lying on them.
There was a very distinct aroma present in this room, comparable to fresh mint leaves, onions and garlic.
At the back of the room was a chair and a desk where the Old man placed his book on his worktable and pulled a string, opening the curtains behind the chair, letting the warm sunlight enter the room.
"You did nothing wrong. Instead, I would say you did me a favour. I did not want to be a part of whatever is happening there as we speak."
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Meanwhile, in the dining hall.
Belreid was the first to move as he stood from his chair, and everyone else stood up after him. "I am returning to my chambers. I wish to be alone for a few moments."
He then walked out alone.
Queen Anessa watched her husband walk away, dejected with his head low. She could not bear to see him like this and followed after him. Eldrain looked at Aurelia and Vonreid with slight uneasiness. "You two go and take some rest, after that, read the notes Raghav has made for you in the evening and train."
"Yes, Master Eldrain." The siblings responded by walking out of the hall.
He, too, then walked out of the hall with An, leaving behind Reinhardt. Who stared towards the chair Raghav sat in. "They'll come around in time."
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"You do not seem as shocked as they were."
The old man smiled as he looked at Raghav through the glass pot, as it morphed his face. "You do not know a lot about me. This is not my first run in with such spiritual knowledge."
Raghav looked down at the floor as he nodded. "I know. Even though the events of the past two weeks Held Me Up, that does not give me an excuse for not trying to know those around me. I mean, I spend time to know the world, its history and functions, but I did not pay mind to the people."
Mage Olda laughed until he started coughing and sat back in his chair. Raghav poured a glass of water for him from a nearby cart and handed it to him.
Taking the glass from his hands, Mage Olda took a few timed sips with a cough and exhaled a sigh of relief. "Did I say something humorous?"
"No, it is just I was happy to see that the man summoned to save this world could be so kind. That he would take time from saving the world and sit down to have a talk with this seventy year old man."
"What will I do with the world if all the people around me are gone. The world waited for over two millennia. It can surely wait a few more minutes."
He went to the corner of the room, getting a chair as he sat beside Olda. "So, where do we start. I must admit I am bad at small talk. So I depend on you, Grandpa, to carry this conversation."
Three books were placed before him as Olda smiled ear to ear. "Funny, you should say that, I was about to say the same, my child."
The two smiled and started reading the books.
After a few moments of silently reading, Olda glanced at Raghav. "So, umm… Does your name also have a meaning like the other words from your homeland?
"It does. Raghav means a descendant of The Noble King Raghu. Just like my Lord Shri Ram, he is also known as Raghav or Raghunandan. I grew up reading and listening to his leela. He is the one who made me who I am. As for my last name, I gave it to myself. Lord Ram was a descendant of the Solar Dynasty, or as they were called in my world, Suryavanshi."
"Walking in the path of the divine, I, too, spent my life just like that. I left my home at an early age after taking the blessings of my parents, in hopes of finding The One. I wanted to be free in this life to meet him, hold him."
Tears formed within his eyes as he looked up at the ceiling as he kept telling Raghav. "I wanted to lie at his feet and be held by him. For no greater joy existed for me."
Now the tears were running down his face as he looked at Raghav with his weeping eyes. "I call out to him every day, to come and grant me a glimpse of his form. I can't take it anymore. It is suffocating. I pretend to be a curious old man, but deep down it hurts to live without him."
A tear fell down Raghav's right eye as he gulped and hugged Olda. "I am here."
Olda wept, clinging to Raghav as they held each other like two people reunited for an eternity after an eternity of waiting.
The two separated as Olda's eyes met Raghav's, and he cried once more, holding Raghav's hands. "Do not cry. The One never left your side. He has always been here."
He consoled him, placing a hand on his chest and the other on Olda's. "The one has always been here."
The old man closed his eyes and nodded. "I feel peace." "As do I."
Shifting his focus back to his book, Raghav asked. "So tell me what is it with Last names in this world? Some people have it, some don't."
This question got a chuckle out of the old man as he moved back to this book. "Last names are given to people who belong to people who are descendants or family members of great people who went down in history. Now these last names only last for two generations outside of the main family, for example, Sarah Goodwill at the Adventurer's guild. She is the daughter of daughter of the previous Supreme Judge. She will be the last to carry her name."
"That's interesting." He placed the book down and shifted his eyes towards the glass pot. "So you brew the base potion in the big pot and then funnel it to these mini stations and then mix in the new compounds, creating different potions and medicines."
"Yes, I know you would understand. Most warriors don't get it at first glance."
Standing up, Raghav stretched. "Shall we cook something up?"
"You know alchemy?" Olda observed Raghav as he looked back at him, shaking his head. "But I do know chemistry."
The two then moved to the central glass pot, and Mage Olda extracted the base potion into two mini stations. "I am currently attempting to perfect a new potion, which is meant to temporarily enhance non-Mana wielders, such that in case of an invasion, the people can protect themselves from the invaders."
"What seems to be limiting you?" "I cannot find a proper binding agent to tie the effects of the Mana to the non-Mana wielder."
Raghav walked over to the stations and looked at the current binding agents on both of them. "A dead wyvern's tongue and its scale. Why are you using these elements?" "Because wyverns can use Mana to breathe fire, their tongues must be protected by Mana, and if they can strengthen their tongue, then their scales must also possess the same qualities."
It made sense, but it seemed off as Raghav closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "These are meant to be for humans, yes?"
A humming in agreement was all he heard as Olda was reading the book placed there. "Then why are you not using something human? Like a Mana enhanced hair."
The words set a domino effect in Olda's mind as he rushed to the station on his right and plucked a hair from his beard and cleaned it before rolling it into a ball and imbuing it with Mana and recreating his experiment, but this time without using the wyvern's remains; he used his beard hair.
The moment the hair entered the boiling potion, it dissolved within it, and the colourless liquid started glowing blue.
"By the will of The One. It worked. All we need to do is test it now." "I volunteer."
Shocked by the words he heard, Olda turned around, shaking his head. "No, it is still uncertain if it is safe."
Raghav walked over, opening the valve on the funnel that had a blue circle drawn on it. The potion was poured into a test tube, cooled by the magic rune drawn on the funnel. "I do not possess Mana naturally, and if it happens to have any side effects. I will use Omniurja and heal myself."
Then, without waiting for a response, he gulped the entire potion in the test tube in one go.
For a few seconds, both of them stood in silence as Mage Olda looked at Raghav, reading for signs of Mana in Raghav's body; however, he saw none. "It would seem the test failed."
Just then, he noticed a faint outline around Raghav's body. "Maybe, it worked."
"Perfect time to test it."
A knife was placed on a book at the left edge of the station. Raghav placed his left hand on the table and reached for the knife with his right hand, and without missing a beat, stabbed himself in the left hand.
Mage Olda was taken aback as he rushed, removing Raghav's right hand and saw the knife had been unable to penetrate his hand and rested on top of his hand.
"It worked." They both spoke in unison as Raghav placed the knife beside him, and the two hugged.
Just then, the door opened as Aurelia looked around frantically. She met eyes with Raghav. "Is my Father here?"
The two parted and quickly walked over to Aurelia. "What happened?"
"My…My Father is not in his room. We do not know where he went."
Raghav placed both his hands on Aurelia's shoulder. "Take a deep breath." He then took deep breaths with her.
Once she had calmed down, he asked her firmly. "Who saw him last and where?"
"My mother, in their room, they were thinking of taking a nap to take their mind off what you had told them about."
Looking back, he nodded. "Relax, Grandpa. I will handle this."
He then walked out holding Aurelia's hand. "I know where your father is."
"You do?"
"Hmm. After learning something like that, a man goes to one of the three places. To his loved ones, he wanted to forget what he learned or to seek answers to the questions that arose in his mind."
Aurelia thought about his words as she began answering. "He did not go to any of us; he cannot forget without getting drunk, which cannot be the case because he promised he would never touch alcohol ever again. It means he is looking for answers."
A smile appeared on his face as he looked back at her. "There is only one other person in this castle beside me who can answer his questions."
"A Sage."
The two arrived in the hallway and saw Vonreid, Reinhardt and Eldrain there.
Reinhardt looked at Raghav and sighed. "We are about to start looking for the king."
"No need." Chimed in Aurelia, looked at Raghav. "We know where he is, in the garden with The Sage."
Eldrain frowned as he began walking towards the garden. "Then why are we standing here? Let's go."
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The group made its way to the garden in front of the castle and looked to their right, and there he was, King Belreid sitting at The Sage's feet on the ground with his legs crossed.
All the weight over Aurelia's shoulder was alleviated as she sighed. In the distance, her father looked back and saw the group before turning to the Sage and bowing down before standing up and walking towards them.
A yawn escaped Eldrain's mouth as he nodded. "I will go back and rest."
Reinhardt stood silently, unable to leave, no matter how much he wanted to.
Sometimes duty binds one to do things that make them uncomfortable.
King Belreid reached the group, and Aurelia rushed to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Why did you not tell anyone. You were coming here, mother was so worried."
As he was being shaken, Belreid answered. "I did tell your mother, and she was even hummed in response."
"She did?" She stopped shaking her father, who nodded.
Then he looked at Raghav, and his eyes narrowed. "Raghav."
"Your grace, I hope what I said changed nothing between us."
"It does."
Raghav lowered his head as Belreid laughed. "It improves our bond. Today, I made peace with losing my arm because of you. Thank you."
The King then turned towards his daughter. "Come with me, I would like to discuss something with you and your mother."
Looking at the other three. Belreid nodded. "Take care of yourselves. Reinhardt, you are free to do as you please today."
Reinhardt bowed and walked away in silence. Then the King turned to Vonreid. "Stay with Raghav. You can continue your lessons tomorrow."
Then the King walked away with Aurelia, who looked back at Raghav one last time, a smile on the corner of her lips as she looked at him.
Now alone with Vonreid at the steps of the castle. Raghav looked at him. "Come on, I will show you the lord of the Rings movies."
"Can I stay in your room the entire night?"
"If your parents allow, then yes. You can."
Raghav placed his hand on the kid's shoulder as they walked into the castle. "Raghav, if there are women in the movie, how do you watch it? Since you do not look at women."
"I close my eyes, really fast or just look away."
"Is that even fun?"
"It's fun in its own way. Now come, kiddo. Let me take you to the world of Middle Earth."