"Erden…." Avril tried to settle down the wild Erden. His legs kicked everywhere wildly as if he was drowning and desperately trying to swim. A hoof slammed into the fireplace, breaking the pile of burning coals. She gripped his hooves, her strength enough to hold down Erden, quite telling of his current state. Careful not to aggravate his wound, Avril slowly wrapped him in vines, his breathing growing calmer under her pollen spell. Blood seeped into the surface of the thick bandages. Avril ripped off the bandages, already dripping with blood underneath, and redid fresh ones.
"Master, can you inform Maia that we are heading for the Lands of Zeret? She's still in your senses, isn't she?" Avril asked. Remulus grunted under his mask, keeping his mouth shut, cautious of Oscar's reaction, and nodded, departing out the window in the silent night. As a family, Maia had the right to know where they went. She stroked Erden's fur. The former soft fur was now prickly and rough, but it was Erden, and that was enough. The vines retracted, and Erden breathed normally. Avril lifted Erden's large head and met his gaze, "She's so happy to see you, Erden. So many years had passed, and she stayed here, believing in you two."
"I tried to tell Demon to go sooner, but he refused until now. But don't trust him too much. He only wants to take you back to keep you locked up where no one can harm you. In his own twisted way, he believes this is best for Oscar." Erden said, trying to stand up, but Avril stopped him.
"Why?" Avril asked.
"Because you're not safe anywhere. Oscar has suffered greatly. Losing you may be it for him." Erden coughed out blood and leaned closer as his weak voice diminished to a whisper. "Never trust him. We have to leave now. Go to the Lands of Zeret. We'll be protected there. Too many enemies lurking around. Run."
He went mute, his eyes closing in a deep sleep, fainting again. His uneasy, spluttering snores filled the room. The kicked-over charcoals started to lose their flare, the reddish light breaking away, and a mixed pair of darkness and moonlight spread. A sudden chill descended, and Avril wrapped herself in a fur blanket, her breath white. Avril tied a piece of cloth over Oscar's eyes, hiding the world from his gaze, and plugged his ears. She couldn't let him see or hear others during the trip, or his outbreak could occur again.
'They're so heavy….' Avril carried them on her shoulders, buckling her knees from the weight. Wanting to smack herself, she realized she was an idiot and summoned vines to carry them; luckily, no one was around to see that. Around the corner and down the stairs, Renn and Gloria waited by the exit, all their belongings presumably in their space pockets. She told them of their destination and new home, and they tensed up at the potential danger Erden spoke of. A few minutes later, Remulus opened the exit and gestured for them to hurry outside.
Due to the fires that burst from the sky, the entire city was on full alert, with more guards patrolling the streets than on an ordinary night. No street had less than two groups of patrols, five in each, and not a single spot was undisturbed by the metallic clicking of the guards' stampeding. They also spread in a net around the air, not even a bird able to enter or exit without them seeing it. Thankfully, Remulus hid them well, his Ein undetectable to the lowly guards. Passing by the wall, Avril and the others exhaled in relief; the first hurdle dealt with.
A considerable distance away from the city, Remulus pulled out a small airship, the size of a small boat, around ten feet tall. Avril gently placed Oscar and Erden in the middle and sat in the back with Renn and Gloria, leaving Remulus to direct the ship from the front. She wiped a bead of sweat off her brow and entered meditation, holding her staff armament at the ready. There was no telling what enemy, if any, awaited them on their journey. The airship rose above the forests of birchwood, the red, yellow, brown, and orange colors of fall scattering in the leaves that fell from the gusts formed by the airship's ascent. Hidden in the clouds, they rode toward the Lands of Zeret.
Half a day later, Erden finally regained consciousness and seemed to fare better today. He rubbed his head against the airship rail and managed to stand up. "Where are we?"
"On the airship. Heading toward the Lands of Zeret." Remulus answered before she could. Somehow, she knew that he was giving Erden a wry smile under that mask.
"That voice…is it you, Pavilion Master?" Erden asked in a growl, clearly disliking Remulus's presence.
"Indeed, it is I. I know you must have much to say to me, and I have much to answer for." Remulus turned and lowered his head, a bow from a King Exalt. He spoke, not as an elder or one with authority, but in a humble tone akin to a servant, "I may never repay it in a lifetime, but I have protected Avril and the children, waiting for you and Oscar to return. Now, I can truly begin to atone. Let me help you."
"Protecting her is a good start." Erden turned away from Remulus and chuckled to Renn and Gloria. "Look at you two, all grown up. We have missed a lot, years and years of your growth and troubles. The boy has become a handsome man, quite built as well! And the girl is now a beautiful woman. Tell me, how many hearts have the two of you broken?" He ended it with a joke, and the children humored him, laughing along.
"What happened, Erden?" While she was glad to see them rebuilding their bonds, Avril needed to know all that happened to them during the decades. "Where have you and Oscar been for the past thirty years? For thirty years, she's been waiting, thankful to Maia, Renn, Gloria, and Master for accompanying her, but she misses you two the most." Gloria leaned on her shoulder as Renn patted her shoulder, both comforting and filling her up with pride to have raised such fine children.
"I assume you know everything from him," Erden pointed an antler at Remulus. "After Oscar broke and Demon–"
His words were cut short as thunder resounded over the clear blue sky. No thunder should exist without a storm. A faint Ein perked her senses, and Avril leaped off the airship, ordering Renn and Gloria to remain, their Greater Knight Exalt powers not a match for the Ein that wafted by. Remulus frowned and fired a bolt of chaotic Ein, parts flowing forward, some in a strange reverse, and others unmoving. The Ein bolt rippled in the empty air that distorted, unveiling another airship, small but larger than hers.
"Who is it?" Remulus's voice was low yet echoed toward the new airship, gaining in force and volume until the airship trembled. Avril heard him warn her in a transmitted whisper, "There is a King Exalt on that ship. Be ready to run."
"Alright. Alright. Geez, is it luck that I found you or a disaster to meet the esteemed former Pavilion Master?" A beautiful woman leaped off the airship and floated to meet Avril eye-to-eye. Her violet gaze lingered on Oscar for a second before resettling on Avril. Clad in white leather armor with metal joints, the woman chuckled, "So you are the famous Avril. Geez, I tried several means to find you, only to finally meet you when looking for Oscar." She brushed her blonde hair aside, studying Avril from head to toe in a scrutinizing glare. "No bloodline, not a Volten, not much of anything. What's the point? With me, he'd father the greatest hero of Talos."
"Are you alright in the head?" Avril gripped her staff tightly, her anger breaking the seams of her gloves. "Who are you?"
"Sirsi Volten. She's a madwoman who chases after Oscar to have a child together. An absolutely deranged butcher." Erden grunted, leaping off the boat. "You can't handle her alone."
"Geez, Erden. Hold on. Hold on. I'm not here for a fight yet. We can still come to an understanding." Sirsi clapped her hands together. "Ahem, Avril, I don't intend to steal Oscar away from you. I only want the Volten savior from him, and the two of you can live as you wish, so long as he will come to protect the child in a time of need. I mean, geez, are a few nights spent with me that bad? It's not like I'm asking him to marry me or leave you. I tried to tell him, but he was stubborn and hardheaded."
Every word that came from Sirsi's mouth was infuriating to hear until the last part. Avril tilted her head up, looking down on Siris with a victorious smile, and Sirsi twitched slightly, clearly offended. Avril raised the staff, melded her scroll anima, and pointed it at her, the scroll head unfurling as the paper spiraled into a swirl, ignoring the winds. Her stance was clear. She rejected her in one word, "Scram."
"I thought you'd be smarter than that. Geez. At first, I wanted to take it slowly, but present circumstances have forced my hand. I'm taking him with me." Sirsi said, stepping forward. "Soon, the great tide will wash over the world, and I need the Volten savior."
A cold wind blew, washing over Avril, and she knew from a glance that Sirsi was not an easy opponent. She stood little chance, but she could not retreat. Looking at Oscar behind her, Avril reaffirmed her determination and took a bold step forward, surprising Sirsi, who grinned as if acknowledging that resolve. The first attack came not from her or Sirsi but from Remulus. A cage of time formed around Sirsi, trapping her in a single moment, doomed to be stuck. Or at least, that was how it should have been. A feral roar erupted, sending immense shockwaves that distorted the cage of time, and it shattered like a mirror, thousands of fragments flying out, showing an unharmed Sirsi.
A human figure leaped out from the airship, transforming into a large beast with three heads. Reaching the size of a whale, the beast had four legs where great claws scraped against each other on the end, a coat of black fur that carried black flames that blazed along its spine down to the enormous fire on its tail. Molten magma drooled from its three mouths, making the ocean below boil. She had read about them in a book once, The Beast with Three Heads, the Mythical Cerberus. Remulus clashed against the beast, their powers dead even, not a good sign for her since Sirsi started to charge in.
Avril used one of her spells sealed in the scroll and doubled it with a follow-up. A flower bloomed, scattering pollen that flew out and stuck to Sirsi's body, dragging her movements down. Her second spell formed four large vines, and she slapped them on Sirsi from four directions. They broke the air in a loud smack and coiled together to imprison Sirsi. Avril knew that Sirsi was a Middle Marshal Exalt like her and a Volten, a master of Reis. Her disadvantages were clear as day, and so she screamed to the children, "Take your father away. I'll hold her off."
"Mom!" Renn and Gloria shouted, not following her instructions. Why now, of all times, did they decide to be disobedient? She didn't suffer that during their growing period.
"Just go!" Avril shouted. Sharp water cut through her vines, rapid torrential blades that severed them into tiny pieces, and Sirsi, shielded in a bubble of jelly-like water, smirked and bolted forward, her violet eyes glaring ahead. The only method of countering her was to use Reis, but her limits were only in the realm of Knight Exalts. Using Reis now may have severe consequences. However, she couldn't allow her to take Oscar and readied to flow Reis into her body.
As Sirsi was about to swing her right fist, coated in Pseudoguise and a water vortex, she halted and guarded herself with her left arm. Flames engulfed her, turning into a large fiery serpent that gnawed on the shield of water and tossed Sirsi away, creating a safe distance for Avril to calm down. She could never mistake the feeling of those flames and turned to the white-haired woman she called sister, the pair of crimson eyes piercing at Sirsi.
"Maia!" Avril exclaimed, surprised to see her friend so soon. She coughed and clutched her chest, out of breath already. Her heart raced from the pre-step to using Reis. Thankfully, she didn't need to use it now.
"Is this why you dragged me along, old Pavilion Master?" Maia sighed, flames surging, fanned by her breath. "I wanted to stay away. Nothing is more insulting than to protect him, but…I have to protect them."
