[Start of Arc 2: One Month]
The sun sank behind the horizon, spilling streaks of orange and violet across the fields. A gentle breeze stirred the tall grass, carrying the scent of earth and distant woodsmoke. Trees whispered in the wind, while a far-off stream shimmered in the fading light. Fireflies blinked like tiny lanterns, and above, the first stars pricked the deepening sky. The land settled into quiet, as if holding its breath for night.
And somewhere in a house larger than all others, separated a bit from the rest of the village. An extremely young man sat in his lawn.
Alex had returned home.
He was currently seated in his house's lawn. Sitting on one of the numerous wooden chairs placed in the lawn alongwith many wooden tables, he sipped tea.
He had returned home a while back. He had informed everyone of what had transpired inside of the Great Forest of Jura, without hiding any secrets—such as being the one to put an end to the Corrupted Dragon.
His mother was saddened and broken by the news. For a whole day, she did not leave her room. Then, eventually, she composed herself. Alex did not know how. How could a woman who had just lost her partner compose herself so well in such a short span of time?....And like this? Without being able to do anything? She didn't even get to prepare a proper funeral for her husband.
Well, he figured, that it was because she still had someone. Her son, Alex.
Soon after Alex arrived in his village—his mother and he, left to inform the elders of the Azure Serpent Clan. There, Alex was marked as a representative of his region for the trial. He was also given the ownership of all the estates that the Aublerts owned. Naturally, his mother would be the one to inherit it, since she was older, but, she had completely denied it. And said that it would be better for Alex to have it.
There, Alex was officially given the title of a 'Junior Saint.'
There existed a well-structured heirarchy in the Three Great Clans. Besides the Elders, the Saints were given the most importance in the Clans—as they should, for being the strongest warriors that the clans possessed. And between the Saints—existed ranks.
'Novice Saints' were Saints who were considered 'Saints,' but due to their inexperience, they were given the ranks of Novice Saints.
Then, came, the 'Junior Saints,' who were, too, considered inexperienced. However, their strength alone was enough to separate them from the ranks of a Novice Saint.
'Adept Saints' were Saints who had gained enough experience and control over their powers to no longer be defined by inexperience.
'Senior Saints' were veterans among saints, respected for both strength and wisdom.
At last, were, the 'Grand Saints.' Extremely rare and revered. They were said to embody the ideal of Sainthood. Combining mastery, wisdom, and overwhelming might.
Aunt Rose, when alive, was an Adept Saint. Truth be told, her power was easily on par with the Senior Saints. However, she was not considered one. It was due to many reasons. First of all, she was not held in high regard by the elders and the members of the Three Great Clans. She was considered a 'problem child,' due to her not taking the elders seriously, not following their commands, and doing whatever she thought was right, and so on.
Then, she was also considered 'not enough experienced.'
It was all bullshit! What had all these old bastards done to even be called Elders? Which elder, a person considered to have a lot of wisdom, let their personal biases get in the way of their work? Alex had a lot of reasons to hate the Elders. This was one of them.
The Elders were all mostly corrupt, selfish, and egoistic. They had their own family members take highly regarded postions. Was it the Aulbert family's fault for not being born into a family having the privilege of an Elder?
Phew.
'Whatever.'
There weren't too many Saints in all the Three Great Clans. Let alone a single one.
Still, each clan had atleast about one or a little more than a dozen of Novice Saints. The White Feather Clan possessed the most.
There were a total of ten Junior Saints in the Azure Serpent Clan, excluding Alex.
The White Feather Clan had nine of them.
The Obsidian Hound Clan consisted of the most Junior Saints—fifteen of them.
Then, as for Adept Saints, Senior Saints and Grand Saints. Each clan possessed the same amount. It was a mess!
Each clan had five Adept Saints; three Senior Saints, and finally:
One Grand Saint Each.
It all looked quite odd. It was as if a mysterious force was hell bent on creating and maintaining a balance between the three highest ranks of the Saints.
Still, each clan had only a single Grand Saint.
Well, that was a given. It was well known that the Grand Saints were supposed to be as strong as the progenitors of the Great Clans. Or atleast roughly around their level.
'Roughly.'
But, there was a strange thing. Despite being beings who possessed such immense power. None of these Grand Saints ever participated in the trial. The Three Great Clans wanted to conquer the trial, right? Then why didn't they deploy their strongest forces inside the trial? Alex had no idea.
Alex had a lot of other thoughts as well, as he sipped tea.
He had preety much enjoyed his travel to the eastern side. He and his mother travelled in a lavish carriage. Alex could've summoned a magic beast for a faster means of travel, but chose not to. There were two reasons behind it:
First of all, he wanted to enjoy his travel. He wanted to keep things at a slow pace. He also really liked travelling in a carriage!
'Oh! The feel!' Alex thought as he took another sip of his tea.
Secondly, he wanted to give his mother more time to arrange her thoughts before reaching the Azure Serpent Clan's citadel. Since, it was really hard to adjust to the sudden loss of many important people in your life.
Finally, Alex finished his tea.
'Now. What to do? What to do?' Alex thought.
Before he could proceed with any further thoughts, though. The swing metal gate situated at the entrance of his house made a sound. Two people entered his house. It was old man Ohan, and his wife: Isa.
A sweet smile found it's way on Alex's face as he got up from his seat and welcomed the guests. He waved his left hand and greeted them:
"Good evening, Sir Ohan! Good evening, Miss Isa!"
"Good evening, Alex!" Called out the two old individuals, simultaneously.
"Oh! Look, Ohan. Alex has grown so much since I last saw him!" Ohan's wife, Isa, said as they made their way towards Alex. It was a given, Isa had seen Alex last when he was barely ten years old, now he was closing in to become fifteen. Ohan and his family mostly lived in the Empire. They just had a house in here, inherited from their ancestors. Ohan and his wife lived here, while their children and grandchildren lived in the Empire. They sometimes came here on vacations, and Ohan and his wife went there from time to time.
"Yes, truly," Ohan said as he took Alex by a tight hug. "Forgive me, child. I had gone to the Empire. I came here as soon as I learnt of what happened to your father and the others."
Alex smiled a little, bitterly. "It's fine Sir. It's not like anyone could've done anything."
Then, they broke the hug.
"Anyway! Thanks for coming."
Then, he gestured towards the wooden table and chairs that had been prepared for guests who were to come meet them in the following days after Alex's return.
All three of them took their seats.
Alex picked up a the bamboo basket kept on another table and put it on their table, offering them the fruits inside.
Both Ohan and Isa took a slice. "So, Alex. What do you plan to do now?" Asked Ohan.
Alex looked at Ohan, then shifted his gaze to the orange sun. "Well. The trial has been postponed for a month. So, I have about a month free. Although there's still some work left."
Ohan looked at Alex with a shocked expression. "Really?"
Alex nodded a couple. Then said:
"It's probably because of what happened here, they might be wanting to investigate the matter. Also, as far as I can decipher... It seems that the Three Great Clans are in a conflict right now."
Ohan raised his brows and asked:
"Really? Why do you think so? Alex."
Alex smiled.
"Actually.... as you know, that the Three Great Clans were created by the agreement of the Three Ancient Saints. And their clans competed against each other, regularly—both directly and indirectly. However, they never expressed to have any bad feelings for each other. But, now.... there's actually a rumor that the Grand Saints have waged war against eachother."
Ohan looked at Alex with a serious expression, digesting his words.
"I see." Then, a warm smile found it's way on his face.
"See, Isa! Look how much Alex has grown. He talks like a grown up now." Ohan chuckled.
"Yes, really." Isa said.
Then, she glanced at Alex and took a bite out of a fruit pie.
"You see, Alex. Whenever I talked to you, I never felt that I was talking to a kid. But, now... you have just surprised me.
You've grown up."
Alex looked at the two and scratched his head, chuckling nervously.
"Ah, thanks for the compliment. Sir. Miss."
Ohan smiled, "Well it is a good thing that you're all mature, but I feel bad for you. Anyway, I won't talk about anything specific, now. I don't want you to feel bad. As an old man, I can give you once advice: do not remorse. What happened has happened. Well, as far as I can see, you've handled things really well. You're a great kid. I can just tell you though, everything else is in your hands."
"I'll keep it in mind." Alex nodded and said as Ohan and Isa pushed back their chairs, slightly, and got up.
Then, Alex got up from his chair, as well, and went inside of his house alongwith the two, so they could meet his mother.
As Alex's mother and the two seniors settled down to talk, he informed his mother and stepped out of the house.
Alex took a deep breath and stepped inside the streets.
'Let's take a walk.'