Jacob now stood in the clearing, calmly watching as Fate dragged his dirt-covered feet into the ring, while a passing breeze caused the grass below him to flow like waves. As Fate’s eyes met Jacob’s cold empty stare, and the light of the dim moon and the stars shone faintly from overhead, the elderly man showed a small smile, which was quite unlike his usual grin.

-Where the hell is...the beast…?

His eyes sharpened into a glare, which attempted to pierce through the chill surrounding the aging servant, only to be met with a grey, cocked eyebrow. Fate, finding no answers in the darkened pools of Jacob’s dim, green eyes, turned away from the ash-haired servant to search for his foe, while constantly running his fingers around the grip of his dagger, like a desperado reaching for his pistol…

However, the shadows around them were devoid of sound, aside from the rustling of trees and grass, which still shook with the gentle winds of the dim nighttime. Despite not hearing or seeing anything, his eyes seemed attracted to a series of small paths that each went in a different direction.

His eyes soon returned to Jacob, who hadn’t taken a single step since his sudden arrival. Fate now fully grasped his dagger in hand, raising it towards the figure of the man he knew so little about…

Fate: “So...there’s nothing here...were these just supposed to lull me into a false sense of security…?”

Fate could feel a cold sweat breaking out across his neck, but attempted to keep himself composed, though there probably wasn’t any point to it, while holding out his weapon. However, Jacob remained unmoving and unfazed by this threat, still smiling slightly at Fate...

Jacob: “Young master, do you know the language of the flowers?”

Fate was confused at Jacob’s seemingly random topic of discussion, nearly lowering his blade due to the questions that started to fill his head.

Suddenly, Fate found himself and his dagger both pointed at an insignificant stone that was surrounded by a tiny ring of small flowers, purple lilies that were covered in thin, flat hairs. Fate found himself even more confused, but his confusion was soon turned into a chill, as he felt a firm, gloved hand grasp his shoulder…

Jacob: “This flower is known as the ‘algoris spina’ flower, and it is quite a common sight within the grounds of the Schneider manor. If you pay close attention to it, soon enough, you will see why the first lord appreciated it so much…”

Fate was confused by the name, but he couldn’t pay attention to the flower with Jacob at his back.

-What the hell...who would start up a conversation about flowers now, and with this kind of atmosphere...this crazy old geezer!

Jacob: “Now, young master, while you’re preoccupied with that...I would humbly ask that you take the time to listen to a short story…”

Fate struggled to loosen Jacob’s grip and to bring his dagger to the elderly servant’s neck, only to be met with an increase in pressure that caused his shoulder to whimper as his weapon sank helplessly to his side, promptly ending his futile attempt to escape.

However indignant he was, Fate recognized his folly in attempting to raise a knife to the man who had already proved his overwhelming strength on multiple occasions, and so allowed his body to sink...

Seeing Fate’s muscle twitch in pain and his neck slump downward, Jacob lowered him to the ground, allowing him to sit, though he still kept his grip on his shoulder, much to the former’s discomfort.

Jacob: “I am aware that you are uncomfortable, young master, but please pay as much attention to this tale as you can while still watching for the signs of your...guest…”

-The signs of my...guest? So I’m fighting...another person…? Who the hell would they bring to fight a kid in the middle of a forest?!

Jacob, unaware of the storm of enraged questions that had begun to brew inside Fate’s head, had now begun to spin his tale…

Jacob: “Once, there was a boy, who belonged to a certain family that was famous for the unparalleled talent that each of its members seemed to display, no matter their path in life, and all bore a crest that looked like a star. Throughout their history, this family had seen its progeny rise to heights of becoming some of the most well known alchemists, magicians, swordsmen, merchants, architecture, and others, far outstripping even some members of royalty…”

Jacob sighed, while Fate suddenly began to shiver, feeling as if something cold had been poured on his back...

Jacob: “And yet, the boy, a single child was born to them among so many ‘shining stars’...who became the first and only anomaly in their proud lineage, which they feared was a sign from the gods on high that their golden era of prosperity would soon end…”

At the mention of an ‘anomaly,’ Fate’s grip on the dagger seemed to falter…

Jacob: “He was born...without a talent…”

-...Huh? A family of supreme talents, some of which were of even greater quality than the royalty...who I think, at least if the clichés are true, should be born and bred to seem better than other people, except in the personalities department, and one of the children of this family of supposedly guaranteed geniuses was born talentless?!!

Fate was still watching for signs of the ‘guest’ Jacob had mentioned, but even though the elderly servant’s tale was just beginning to be spun, he was focusing more and more on the story.

It appeared to be a dream-like family, where any one of their children could be the next star of their respective era, and yet a talentless member had appeared among them, truly unexpected! But what was to be the fate of such a child in a family, filled with others who exceeded them by leaps and bounds?

Jacob: “This child was born without a crest, leading others to believe that it was illegitimate. Some within the family of golden stars now began to even suspect that the daughter who gave birth to the child wasn’t truly one of their own, despite her overwhelmingly sublime talent as a mage and the presence of the family crest.

However, skilled alchemists and mages from various backgrounds all determined that the mother of the child was indeed of their blood, as was her offspring, but could not determine the source of the anomaly...”

-Ok, so magical ‘blood-tests’ confirmed that the kid was a member of the family, but he still didn’t have this ‘star-crest’ that their family was known for? That’s gotta be a rough childhood…

Jacob: “However, as seven years went by and the child continued to grow and still did not show signs of manifesting their crest, and tensions over the child’s future continued to mount certain members of the family, the same ones who first suspected the mother and child of being illegitimate, conspired to have the child put to death…”

-They wanted...to kill it?! Wait...aside from the family full of talents...and most likely the size of the family, this whole plot smells pretty familiar…

Jacob: “Having been on edge for quite some time and having paid very close attention to the family’s affairs, the mother soon caught wind of this, and began making preparations to flee the family...However, she had learned of it...too late, and was set upon by the conspirators, who managed to severely wound her before she escaped with her young son…”

Fate felt his mood turning from frightened to somber, as if he could already imagine what the fate of the two was to be...

Jacob sighed, once more…

Jacob: “Later, a pair of charred corpses was discovered near the edge of their territory, the larger of the two later being identified as the mother, due to the blood traces that were left behind on the ground...The smaller corpse, on the other hand, was burnt so badly that it more closely resembled a child-sized piece of coal than anything else, but was declared by the family to be the unfortunate son, who had burned to death in his mother’s arms…”

-Holy...they both…?

Fate wanted to hear more, he wanted to hear about what happened to the mother’s enemies within the family, about if the two sad stars had truly perished that day, about why Jacob was bothering to tell him this story…

Fate: “W…!”

[Rustle, Rustle!]

Suddenly, the sound of rustling grass and branches began to spread throughout the forest, interrupting Fate’s attempt to inquire of Jacob, as his eyes began to frantically scan the surrounding area!

Jacob: “Ah, it would appear that your guest has arrived, young master, so I shall leave you now.”

Fate felt the pressure that had been tightly gripping his shoulder now vanished, and as he spun around, he saw that its owner had disappeared, as well....

Fate: “H-hey...wait!!!”

[Rustle!][Rustle!][Rustle!][Rustle!]

The sounds grew more intense, causing Fate to look to the series of shadowy paths, in hope that he may be able to find his foe before it found him. He could feel himself begin to tremble and his grip on the dagger start to tighten, but he tried to reassure himself…

-Whatever...who cares about that story! I need to focus and keep alert! I drank a courage potion, I have a weapon, and I’m pretty sure I have a way to kill it, so all I need is to not let my guard down and I should be alright!

[Rustle!][Rustle!][Rustle!][Grunt!][Rustle!]

The sound of a strange snorting caught his attention, as he now turned to one of the leftmost paths, where he believed it had come from. And as the hairs on the purple flowers near the rocks began to stand on end and they slowly changed color, Fate was able to see a strange pair of tusks emerging from the shadows...

It seemed that his foe had finally arrived...

...

[Chapters completed this week: 4/7]