Chapter 1: Corruption - part 1

In a cave, there was a body, in full decomposition, but it wasn't dead. An individual was there, finding himself in a struggle with death. After sacrificing everything he had for power, or rather, for the preparations for his ritual, he had to risk his own life, a gamble that could yield high profits, or culminate in his complete corruption, and later, probably his own death.

Unlike other sorcerers who had already tried to perform the same ritual as his, Henri found in the experiment something fulminating, challenging, that would open a new passage for his tedious life. Since childhood, he knew he was an aberration, but he always found splendor in the individual's internal conscious struggle against himself. He has already gone through depression and numerous mental crises, however, he never really distanced himself from the abyss, quite the contrary, the abyss fascinated him, because the abyss would mean revelation, and nothing pleased him more than to hate his own being and try to analyze his own existence and nature itself, so that his understanding of it would foster his search for goals and a meaning for his actions.

His last defined objective resided in that same cave, because spiritual beings that carry large amounts of spiritual energies will exist there for a long time.

He didn't believe in the soul, unlike other sorcerers, at least not in the way they believed they would serve his. Instead, in order to directly access and control spirit beings and their powers, he thought it was necessary for his to become a pseudo-spectre, creating an astral spirit and controlling it through the body's nerves. his brain would be busy materializing the sensory vision to visualize other spirits and survive as long as you can using the body's own power residues.

The cave he chose held history, and was infused with enormous amounts of hate. Any light user would sense this, and would be able to tell how corruptible the place is. Henri saw in this pressure only a prelude to what was to come, for he planned to consume the hateful souls of that place and obtain their spiritual powers, along with their unhappiness and curses, if he thought he was capable of it, for he will not fear death and there was a plan to get away with it in that case.

Of course, however, there were many limitations. First of all, to create an astral spirit and control it required an enormous amount of spirit energy. Second, while on the astral plane, the individual would completely lose track of time. It wouldn't be surprising if his body died while trying to consume the other spirits, and then, naturally, he would lose control over his astral spirit and vanish with it.

Furthermore, it was necessary for his spirit pressure to be strong enough to control the spirits and make their essence circulate through his veins, something that would be impossible even if he expanded his limits and accumulated the maximum of mana throughout his entire life, while forming as many spiritual contracts as you could, all due to several reasons. Furthermore, what makes wandering spirits so conducive to consumption is the fact that the only thing keeping them in existence is hatred, hatred that could be suppressed with enough power, however, any amount of mana that Henri would acumulate couldn't still be enough to supress them for long periods, let alone consume their essence. Normal spirits live normally from the essence of nature and it is impossible to consume them, unless you are an individual capable of interacting with their existence physically, and humans in their vast majority are not capable of that.

To combat these weaknesses, Henri opted to perform sacrifices to demons to gain the necessary power, since demonic power is much more maintainable as long you know what you are doing. The first was his brother, who was creative but naive. His love affairs caused him to fall into a deep depression. Henri sacrificed him before he killed himself or let himself down to the point of complete despair. Henri did not do this because he wanted to free his brother from the suffering of his life, but because he was no longer able to give a damn about the notion of a life that has no clear meaning that fascinates his, and therefore, he sees himself entitled to seize an individual's life if there is a reason for it. Of course, he doesn't even know what the source of this imaginated right is, it's something that arose and installed in his mind in a way that he doesn't know exactly how, but he still sees that sacrifice as an essential action.

His second sacrifice was his mother. She wasn't terrible, and despite having some bad memories about her, he doesn't remember being abandoned or anything like that. But her inability to control her desires caused her to make bad decisions, to become poor and miserable, and to fail herself.

His third sacrifice was his father. An intelligent and capable man, but seriously mentally challenged and unable to learn from serious past mistakes. He had always let himself be taken advantage of, and had lived in squalor, constantly letting himself be taken advantage of by others while thinking he was making an fair trade, and bordering on insanity after the death of his mother, whom he always cared for and loved.

After making these sacrifices and more, Henri sold everything and fled, seeking to preserve his life for a longer period of time by learning to control demonic power and not letting it consume his body. He joined various organizations, and did everything to prolong his life, even for a few more seconds. Eventually he surrendered his former companions and received pardon for his crimes against the state, as he had already managed to obtain everything he needed for his long-awaited ritual.

After creating a spirit spectrum and virtually inhabiting it, he made it release all the negative energy he had obtained through his sacrifices to demons, atracting and absorbing all the spirits that inhabited the cave while injecting them into the nerves of his original body. He continued using that energy to contain the spirits and concentrate their spiritual pressures so that they circulated, dissipated and circulated again, so that the spiritual pressure did not destroy his body. Knowing it would be a long process, he began to draw on demonic energy to fuel his body and keep it alive, knowing full well that there would be side effects in the future.

So he continued, repeating the same actions for a long period of time, until there was no risk of the spirits escaping. He united the newly created specter with his body, something possible because his spiritual being was made purely of demonic energy, and soon, it would return and become virtually part of his body again.

Inside his body, he could feel the spiritual power circulating through all his nerves, violating his mind to the point of making him border on complete insanity. The spirits plagued him with all kinds of curses and negative feelings, and even Henri, who did predict something like that, didn't know it would be something like this. What he suffered mentaly was much worse than any mental crise, the energy made him hate everything to the point of wanting to make him tear his own skin and hit his head repeatedly against the floor and wall on several ocasions.

Henri was also immensely weak. The demonic energy only kept him alive, but his deteriorated body made him feel countless accumulated hells, such as hunger, thirst, immense heat and cold, and pain in all parts of the body. The food that Henri brought with him to travel was already rotten, but in order to increase, even if slighty, his chances of survival in the long run, he had no choice but to feed on it and anything he could find in the cave. To drink any water he could only get it from the ground, because he couldn't get rainwater since he was in a deep part of the cave, and he was too weak to walk and climb, he could only crawl.

It went on like this for who knows how long, maybe months, maybe years. Eventually there was nothing left to eat, and although he was already used to the pains and torments of the spirits, it only intensified even more, to the point that he had to suppress it using his demonic energy which would eventually deplete because of excess use, and the longer it went, the more he needed to use to maintain himself alive, leading to more waste of demonic energy.

But the positive side of all this is that he was already learning to tame the spiritual energy and use it, and even if it was corrupted, it helped him move around the cave. He was in a very desolate part of the cave's basement, not counting on the company of monsters, which were not out of the ecological influence of the rabid spirits that inhabited there, and therefore, they hardly dared to enter, sensing the danger inside the forest and the cave trough their instinct.

As he stepped out into the sun, blindness infected his eyes, and again he had to go through a painful period of adjustment, thrashing and digesting whatever he could in the forest that followed the cave. If someone were to look at him naked, they would see a man with long hair, and without almost ny flesh on his body other than these of his organs and whatever held them together. His outfit, an torn and dented black garment lined with a line-reinforced overcoat, only served to highlight how thin he was, and the fact that he was still carrying these clothes with his body in such a situation could be considered a feat in itself.

The forest through which he walked also suited the style of the cave he would emerge from, the ground was dead, and the trees were dry and with the inertia of life. But there was still some kind of aura in the air, which prevented the branches from falling to the ground, as if they were tormenting the trees and their roots in eternal torment, preventing them from dying. Henri had already studied the area for a long time, knowing that it had a lot of history, and the fact that so much hatred inhabited the place was not surprising, considering that the spirits were cursed, taking everything out on the nature they inhabited.

Spirits were not tangible beings, and normally could not alter reality to such an extent. But these have the ability to turn their negative desires into tangible realities, to shape reality the more their never ending negative desires accumulate. These spirits had been created by the lamentations of countless individuals, and had no rationality other than the desire for hatred and destruction.

Henri did not exactly know their origin besides the stories and legends he studied, which he didn't completely believe, but it is clear that the barrier that surrounds the region serves to contain all these spirits. If such spirits roamed around, they would only bring destruction and chaos. But his current condition was somewhat curious: he would be taking with him a large number of those spirits, which devoured him but gave him power. If it continued without being put down, he would eventually go insane and be controlled by them, serving only as a puppet for their desires.

Continuing to wander and crawl out of the forest, he needed to find a user of light magic to eliminate this corruption. It only took one vulnerable moment to let the pain and torment take over, and to stop that, he didn't sleep and hardly wasted energy thinking. Still, he memorized the way to the nearest town. For a long time, a squadron had been established to guard this forest, but over time, the customs of inquisition against the spirits that resided there were lost. Because it takes a lot of work and is a long-term activity. The simple solution was to erect a barrier and forbid anyone who entered to leave. Over time, the squadron of guards dwindled and limited themselves to just checking the surroundings of the barrier, charging a fee to anyone who entered and would like to secure permission for their exit as well.

Henri, knowing this, had already paid off the guards. When they saw his leaving the forest and approaching the barrier, they didn't even recognize his, they thought he was some kind of spirit materialized in physical form, and soon, they were watching his movements attentively. He, however, as he approached little by little, eventually stood before them, still inside the barrier, saying that he had paid for the ticket, and needed help to expel all that evil energy that inhabited his body. His throat obviously couldn't handle saying all of that as it was, and he had to use his demonic energy to amplify it all. This distressed the guards, but it helped them remember about his, that he was one of the few who dared enter the forest while they were there, but he was the only one not to return.

One of the guards, wearing an emblem on his chest, approaches, shocked: "You... Could it be that boy, so he's still alive? What can we do...".

Another commented: "To think such a young guy would end up like this... He was gone for a while, I thought he was already dead."

"He asks for help, maybe he wasn't fully possessed, whatever happened to his" The individual then turns to another "Erigg, go ask for the Bishop's presence, something unusual has happened!" Says the man with the emblem on his breastplate for his, who wears less armor. He mounts a horse and rides nimbly, matched by the high speed of his corsel.

After that they remain conflicted for a few seconds. The name of the man with the emblem is called Terin, he is the captain of the forest watch squad, and typically inhabits the place most of the day, responsible for setting up camps and giving orders. The current squad consists of only 3 members, with Erigg being responsible for periodically bringing supplies, in addition to having to check the surroundings from time to time, and another member, called Lyin, is responsible for cooking and household chores. in general. Furthermore, they move out of position only on weekends and holidays, returning to the city temporarily.

Henri remembered them a little younger, which meant a few years had passed, at the very least. They were there exercising self-discipline activities, as this is one of the places where young soldiers from the Daone Republic are sent to perform temporary duties for training, eventually being replaced by other rookies.

Lyin approaches Terin: "What do you think?", Terin replies: "It's strange to say the least, let's leave his there until the bishop arrives, he asked for it himself."

Terin then approaches Henri, still outside the barrier.

"What is his name?"

"...Henri."

"Having trouble speaking?"

"Yes"

"Would you like to eat and drink water?"

"....Yes...."

Henri was never very fond of repeating the same thing over and over again, and added to his weakness, his last reply was barely audible.

Tiron then turns to his companion: "Divide water and leftovers with his, leave it there on the ground, but don't get too close to his and don't even enter the barrier, take a branch to push inside or something", "Right", responds Lyin.

Eventually, the man from before arrives back on horseback at the small camp.

Terin: "How was it?"

Erigg: "The bishop is coming tomorrow, he said to keep an eye on his."

Henri hardly even had the demonic power to rule all those spirits inside his body anymore, and the spiritual energy he had taken for himself would not be enough to expel them from himself, as he was still too weak. I could only rely on white magic for now. To take power from all those spirits required even more demonic magic, but Henri found it too risky in many ways, not only would he require many more sacrifices, but spiritual power coming from malicious spirits would draw too much attention to his. Furthermore, the chances of his dying during the process would increase significantly, as his body would perish. The fact that he's actually still alive is a huge miracle in itself.

A day then passed, and the Bishop then arrived in a wagon, along with other members of his church. His name was Fleer, and with him was Rieth the knight and some servants, including the one who drove the wagon.

Fleer is a tough looking, dark red haired and mid-aged fellow, his eyes are blue and he wear tiny red glasses, also, his hair is combed back, styled in a ponytail, and he is also wearing a blue hat and an light blue ferraiolo. Rieth is both black and white haired, his face has a white mask and he is almost fully armored, with white robe coving unarmored areas.

Fleer: "Could you explain what's going on?"

Terin: "Sir, a man appeared crawling inside the barrier, it is likely that the spirits have done something to him."

Fleer: "Lead me to him."

Fleer followed to the barrier, and, before entering, created another barrier covering him and his companions from any possible spiritual corruption, in a quickly mysterious but apparently accurate way, considering the gravity of the situation. Approaching Henri then, the knight at his side took some kind of paper and nailed it to his back, apparently to prevent the spirits from leaving his body. The Bishop then began to analyze his body through clairvoyance. Before using any kind of magic, he always seems to stab his hand at necklace of unknown origins.

Fleer: "Strange, spirits don't normally invade someone's body, and something seems to be preventing them from taking control at once." He pauses for a moment and follows his saying, "Perhaps this lad is an extremely capable mage, but I wonder how he has any access to magic in this morbid place, did he tell you anything before he entered?". Terin then replies after some thinking: "I remember he said something about having high knowledge about spirits, so he must have his tricks."

The Bishop continues to look at the body, and eventually prepares another apparently paper seal, placing it over the other and holding it with his hands, while saying something intelligible, probably as part of the ritual. The spirits that were in Henri's body are eventually absorbed by the first seal, and several of them are transported to the second seal, which probably means that only one would not be enough to seal them. The necklace Fleer is holding starts to crack a little, something that doesn't surprise either him or the knight beside him.

The ritual apparently went much easier than expected, as the Bishop was surprised at how easy it was to import so many spirits from the boy's body into his seals.

Fleer: (Naturally, I would declare someone in this guy's situation a goner, but he sealed those spirits away at virtually no serious expense for me, or maybe that's only my impression?)

All the pains that covered Henri suddenly stop, only for him to pass out right after. The bishop then diverts his gaze to the knight at his side, who soon picks up the fallen boy's body and takes it up to the carriage.

He and the rest of the group exit the barrier, and the bishop asks Terin, "Do you have any idea who he is?"

Terin: "No, but he said his name was Henri. He came here 2 years ago, and we haven't seen him since."

Fleer: "Okay, I will decide what his fate will be after ensuring that he poses no actual danger. And you... You did a good job informing us about the matter, I hope you will continue the good service even when you are transferred to another post. "

"The pleasure is mine, sir.", by saying that, Terin watches Fleer and the other servants enter the wagon. it's big enough to fit at least 10 men.

The wagon then starts to move by the strenght of the horses, directed by a servant. It goes along a dirt road, and passes through several decent sized fields of crops along the way, fertilized by the water of the Termite River, which comes from the west and goes east. The journey is not that long, and after 5 hours they are already arriving at the city of destination, surrounded by walls and by some mountains of the north.

...

While Henri sleeps and doesn't really know what's going on around him due to his complete exhaustion, he finally dreams something after years without sleeping properly, albeit completely unconsciously. After spending years and years tormented by spirits, he imagines what would happen in the future, in one hand is the sword, in the other is a shield, is he destined to fight, kill and suffer for the rest of his existence because of his atrocious acts? He as abandoned any sense of stability a long time ago, he doesn't and will not care about fate or religion his only aim are being able to live, and to learn, but, alas, the humans heart is not immune to corruption, if there were the possible means to expand himself and surpass his limits, he would not think twice about taking actions, even if they might hurt others. Truthfully, Henri was not actually ambitious, and he had no urge to control or harm others. For his, the only individuals worthy of respect are those who use any means. Ethics and morals would be a good thing, but it won't do any good if other individuals are hypocritical, full of errors while negatively influencing others, an world were everyone treat each one better is a world that he knows nothing of, since he was not born in it. This led on him the urge to test his own thesis upon the others, disregading their actual feelings, mostly because he see there acts as "playback" for something.

When he was young, Henri came from a family with good financial conditions. His traumatic childhood experiences, all of which he thinks as if caused by his family and by the human nature's flaws, gave him an anti-family and anti-religion mindset from an early age. His father and mother never educated him, never showed to him what love is, at least not fully enough to move him. And the negative effects of these only expanded due to his natural mental deficiencies, turning him into someone insensible.

The path for power was just a consequence of all the life he lived until now, that's what he thinks, "there is nothing to regret, the life is as it is, we living beings are only devices created and in development by the nature and our urge to evolute, but alas, in different ways, while also depending correlatively on our own nature and experiences, which make us strange to each other in several ways.". If nothing gives him the value he would like, and there is no one for him to apply any sort of heavy value. then he would follow a path worthless in the eyes of others, living only for himself. If the parameters he follows are not respected, then it would be enough for him to just live according to them and get rid of those who interrupted him in living the way he wanted.

What is life, if not a large set of apparent unconsciousness that mobilize you to look for something?...

...

When he wakes up, Henri finds himself inside a room, lying in a bed. His body was much better than before, enabling him to move without problems. When he gets up and inspects the door, he realizes that it is made of iron, and that he would be locked inside. He thinks about screaming and trying to call someone, and thinks it over and over again, until he comes to the conclusion that trying to call someone would be better than waiting, considering his clearly strange past circumstances in the eyes of others...

"Hello!! Where am I!!" Where the best words he could think of. However, it ends up not bearing fruit, and no one comes, probably because his voice is not going out of his mouth very smoothly. Henri thinks it's better that way, as he will have more time to reason and read the situation.

He sits on the bed, and thinks about everything he has gone through painstakingly. As he tries to feel the changes within his body, he sees that there is no longer any significant amount of demonic energy with him, which means any church member will hardly feel anything at all even if they tried. The spiritual energy now, on the other hand, is clean negative energy, since it was dispensed with the help of the Bishop, which shows that all his effort did yield him what he wanted. With that power, he calculates that he could materialize a vacuum bomb powerful enough to expel the door along with a good part of the wall to the other side, however, he would also need to cast something to defend himself against this explosion. Wind magic is the easiest kind of magic to use in any situation, since most quick spells needs a use of some expedient of sorts as magical device. You can't really freeze anything if there is no water, fom example, and fire is much more troublesome, since combustion is tricky to deal with, alas, using fire magic is pretty much an absolute taboo among mages for several reasons, to the point it's barely mentioned in theorical books.

As he calculates which are the chances of him ending up having to use magic and which, footsteps start to be taken outside, and eventually a man who looks like an armed soldier with some light metal protection opens the door.

"The bishop calls you, but asks that your presence will only be possible if you accept that I handcuff you."

"No problem." Henri responds, unsure why he's being handcuffed, maybe the Bishop wants to make him feel pressured? After all, his muscles were still pretty lean, and the cuff feels loose in his hands, something the soldier clearly doesn't seem to mind. He wouldn't have any plans to get away from there, wouldn't know exactly where to go, but having a talk with the bishop would probably yield some ideas. The guard locks his hands in iron cuffs, and Henri starts to follow from behind. They go through a corridor, up stairs, and go to the end of another corridor, and enter a room. The bishop who saved him is sitting on a chair, with his hands resting on a table, and the soldier tells him to sit on a chair that is in the opposite direction.

Henri sits down, and the bishop already says, "Hello, my name is Fleer, I assume your name is Henri, I'd like to ask you a few questions, is that okay?"

Henri: Yes"

Fleer: "Okay. What were you doing inside the Semiur forest? I guess you knew what was in it."

Henri: "Sir, I'll be honest with you. I went into the forest thinking I could tame the spirits through my magic power."

Fleer: "Magical power? So you're a wizard? I had already guessed that."

Henri: "Yes. I used all my mana reserves that I accumulated over time to obtain the power of the spirits."

Fleer: "How did you get mana for that? I doubt that even the most powerful mage in these regions could accomplish such a feat, everyone knows that the negative energy of spirits is capable of violating any physical thing until its destruction."

Henri: "I counted on help."

Fleer: "Help?"

"Yes, help.". Before answering anything more, Henri immediately conjures a vacuum bomb between his hands, with no clear direction between his hands, resulting in an explosion in plain air. With such an explosion, the table flies up, the bishop flies and hits the wall hard, the handcuffs on Henri's hands break and fly out with the pressure, and he goes flying backwards along with the chair, coincidentally, or no, past the door and the guard, and falling farther back. The guard, undecided, doesn't know whether to go after first Henri, and chooses to check on the Bishop, who appears to be passed out. This gives Henri time to run away, climbing more stairs, and eventually reaching a hall with several people, including guards. Henri walks to the exit, hoping no one suspects his presence, and exits the building. Now his next thought objective would be to flee the city, after all, the guard or the bishop would eventually tell others and eventually come after his. However, he calms down, and reasons that it wouldn't be a good idea, after all, he doesn't even have the means to feed himself, and where would he go? While working out a definitive means for this, he would investigate the city, looking for some "opportunity". The building he was in wasn't that big, and apparently it also serves as a detention center for people, so it's probably an place owned by the church and the city guards. His old clothes were changed into casual clothes, he's clean, and the fact that no one will question his as he goes outside also seems strange to him, as if his actions have already been predicted, or he's being watched. Henri abandons these thoughts to continue wandering and analyzing the city. He had left money with bankers before going to Semiur, but he doesn't know if they will recognize him, it doesn't user a paper system, and depends mainly in good faith between parties, and money. When he went to the forest, he went with nothing, and his items are inside his house, in a city very far away, so, his priority would be to get his money.

After getting information by questioning people, he eventually arrives at where he intended, an exchange office. Although the owner's main business is to exchange Wersian gold coins (currency of the region) for other coins from the small continent, he also works with gold coin storage. Upon entering, Henri talks to an attendant, and manage to organize a conversation with the owner. His name is Stellei, an old acquaintance of Henri's, he was once his father's lawyer, but left the profession after getting permission from the government to found his business. Although Henri was officially a noble, Stellei was intimate with the church in the region, and had connections to the order of Guennes, an order whose workings were, in short, to uphold the dogmas of the church in all spheres of society. The kingdom Henri is in, despite officially being ruled by a monarchy, which currently ruler is called Astanhol Werses, it's essentially controlled by a theocratic order. Archbishops control cities, and bishops are part of the court of archbishops, having broad powers to influence and be influenced. The fact that Bishop Fleer had demanded his presence with only one guard to protect him, and not even a knight, was what made him feels queasy towards the situation he faced, more than the more obvious possibility that the guard would call more people to come behind him if he commited any harm against the bishop, he was determined to get out of there as soon as possible, and now, he needs an clear direction.

When he enters the reception room, he sees Stellai sitting by the window reading a book.

Henri: "Good morning Mr. Stellai"

Stellai: "Hello Henri, I haven't seen you for years, where have you been?"

Henri: "It is complicated"

Stellai: "I understand. As for myself, i'm doing quite good."

Stellei goes to a drawer, marks and puts the book away, and goes to another and starts to rummage through documents, until he picks up a single sheet and starts reading some information: "You have stored 25 gold coins and 87 silver coins during the last almost exactly 3 years, including your last deposit of 9 Gold and 87 Silver coins 2 years ago."

Stellei hands the paper to Henri, the two argue for a bit, and he pulls out a homemade calculator.

...

It is agreed that Henri would take almost the entire amount, paying an exact amount of 60 silver pieces for the storage fee. Everything is delivered to him in two small tied bags.

Stellei asks him: "Are you going to leave the region? It's been a long time since I've seen you around here".

Henri replies, "I still don't know exactly, but it's been a few days since I arrived in the city, and I'll have uses for the money, so i might be seeing you in the future if i start gaining a lot of more money, hahaha"

The two men finish doing business and part ways, and Henri has some lunch at an inn and gets some rest. As he is leaving the establishment, he comes face to face with an masked person clothed like an gentleman, who does not assume a hostile position, but still causes him suspense.

"Good afternoon Henri, i assume, my name is Rieth, the bishop I serve, Fleer, would like to talk to you again."

"What?"

"No need to worry... It may sound suspect, but the bishop knows why you attacked him, now he intends to have a heart-to-heart talk with you."

Henri realizes that his suspicions have some reason. However, he cannot foresee what the Bishop wants with him. First, it's entirely possible that the Bishop already knew that, at least for a while, he possessed demonic energy. If not, he probably thinks Henri is an exceptional wizard, or belongs to some mysterious organization who backs him up. At best, he might think that Henri is an saint of the god Helenkar, one of the four sons of the god Eyshteer, and the god who is supposed to rule and maintain control over the evil spirits.

While thinking about these things, Henri follows the knight. He had a certain paranoia, and was already prepared to use his spiritual power to escape from there in any case. Henri specializes in spell casting that involve phenomena involving winds, using his body as a plumber, he is able to move objects through air pressure and created moving magic trough it, creating enough pressure to cause even the vacuum explosions he did earlier. He is also capable of hypothetically flying, but he never had enough mana to perform or practice something like that, as it would be necessary to constantly change the areas where he would press the air to be able to move aeronautically, something that needs not only a high amount of power, but also enormous experience and practice.

If the knight changed his mind and decided to impale the sword in his belly at that very moment, Henri saw himself as capable of managing to deflect the sword with air pressure and counterattack with an aeronautic kick against his head, supported by the wind, but he doubts that everything would turn out so well. Henri has never trained physically, and despite working out daily in the past, it would just be to not lead a fully sedentary life. Besides, he's still weak after being in a practically vegetative state for years.

His plan B would be to try to fly. It would probably go wrong, but he trusts that he would at least manage to distance himself enough to perform more delicate magic.

The knight and Henri then approach a more secluded house to the south of town. The knight then speaks: "You fainted the bishop, and he was taken back to the house. He charged me to look for you in case anything happened to him and to take you to his house."

Henri responds, "If I may ask, if the Bishop already knew what my reaction would be, why was all this necessary? And why does he want to talk to me again?"

Rieth seems to think a bit: "I don't exactly know the Bishop's intentions, but he already seemed to be interested in you since he heard the story of that scout... Erigg.", he continues "However, I think you satiating the bishop's interests will be more interesting than, say, having your existence and history informed to the order of Guennes, who would try to ascertain your whole life...".

Rieth calls the servants inside the house with a shout, and a lady opens the door. Rieth goes on his way, and Henri is invited into the living room, where coffee is served as he reads some books given to him while he waits for the Bishop. One of the books is called "A Brief History of the Small Continent", which is officially called the Continent of Iguadesh. The continent exists to the south of the large continent of Kheneldia, and despite being called a continent due to its proportions, it is more of a very large island. To the south of the small continent, there are the demi-human regions, which also inhabit the mostly forest regions. The two sides inhabited by humans are divided into the western and eastern regions, both are regions created after the monarchs' evacuation following the expansion of Druaga's domains, which conquered most of the northern and central parts of the continent of Kheneldia. Many humans remained there under the dominion of the great dragon king, that is, Druaga, but the nobles saw the situation as life and death, evacuating along with the servants and thousands of people.

A century has passed since then, and countless struggles for survival have occurred in the meantime. The fact that the humans of the small continent have not yet been dominated by Druaga shares a correlative fact that the regions are governed by centralized dictatorships. Monarchs proved unable to organize military efforts to restore human civilizations on the continent, and theocratic regimes emerged with the aim of seizing power. Henri knows that it was the prophet Guennes who started all this. Claiming to be able to communicate with the divine entity that created the world, Eyshteer, Guennes prophesied, through reasonable evidence within his religious circle, that the true savior of the continent and humans would be the avatar of Eyshteer, who would come to eliminate all evil and unite all peoples under one banner. The order of Guennes was established with the aim of centralizing the states under the orders of the church, which would be responsible for sanctifying society and finding out where the hero is. The hero never actually came, but the fact is that Guennes' order formed an authoritarian regime on the continent, peasants are forced to work in the fields and enlist in military efforts, ranging from regional and mainland patrols to occasional minor conflicts with beings in Druaga's army, and the nobles are forced to fulfill their roles as members of the elite, working, playing significant roles in society, having to learn military strategy, train and become proficient at something. And the clergy, in addition to being responsible for guiding the entire society, must also investigate the lives of the entire population, to make sure that everything is going according to the dogmas, and that the hero of the prophecy can potentially be identified. Henri, despite not being initially interested in magic, was forced to become proficient at something as a child, and continued to practice for quite some time. At least, until he dabbled in black magic and sought to understand alternative ways to become more powerful.

As he reads the books to pass the time, he is finally informed that the bishop has woken up. The servants guide him to the bedroom, where he sees the bishop already standing, sitting on a chair. The maids bring a chair for Henri, and the two begin to talk:

Fleer: "Henri, the reason why i locked you up for a short while was to confuse the order."

Henri: "Confusing? And why did you do that?"

Fleer: "What you must understand is that I do not agree with the order. One of my duties is to report any exceptionally abnormal phenomenon to ir, and you certainly are one. To ensure that no one would know of your existence, I had to stage as if you were some rogue, who is now in the run, because of that, they will hardly know who you really are and where you are. My purpose with all this? Yout existence intrigues me. I want to talk to you, and I promise that I will not conspire against you, at least for no reason."

Henri: "First I want to understand something: Do you not agree with Guennes and his dogmas?"

Fleer: "No. All this talk about an eventual hero, in my perception, is a fairy tale, and even if it were real, it's hardly something that actually happens now, also, to prophesy an vague future doesn't give anyone the right to control the lives of others."

Henri: "...What makes you think that?"

Fleer: "You probably.. also know why, don't you?"

Henri: "... I see. So I can trust you?"

Fleer: "Yes. I want to talk to you more later, however, at the moment I have my obligations within the church to take on. I would like you to take the attitude to get used to the mansion, i intend to present you a job offer later, and I would like you to comfort yourself a little until then, you can ask the servants for anything you want. Any need for books to pass time, ask the maid Andreia, she will know how to inform you."

Henri: "Right."

After parting ways, Henri left the room perplexed. Fleer gave him the "signal" that he also know, somehow, of the information shared within the circle of the so-called "black magicians". Generally, black magicians were considered evil, individualistic and dangerous beings for humanity, but this perception has been gradually changing among different people of the nobility and clergy, according to which the ideas of the so-called black magicians were spreading. Black magicians are not inherently magic-using beings, but individuals who have alternative means that might antagonize those used by the status quo to obtain information and take actions. It's not so surprising that Fleer also knows something, since these kind of informations call all be bought, however, him being an Bishop adds additional meaning to it.

The clergy, since ancient times have always used a classical method to communicate with the gods. They place statues that symbolize gods in certain places, and distribute idols, make people pray through these statues and idols, and then exchange them for new ones. Prayers and faith are the main means used to form an energy capable of making individuals able to communicate with the gods or to locate them, however, there are specific means for this, and the clergy monopolize the information for this. The rituals carried out allow individuals to locate the gods, identify them, and even dialogue with them, but all this is a slow, time-consuming process, and having to be carried out in parts. When Guennes communicated with Eyshteer, he was only able to hear a small percentage of what the god said, in an very, encripted fashion, and to form a conclusion he had to make extensive interpretations. The church was then divided into those who agreed with the interpretations, and those who said it was necessary to wait until they heard what else Eyshteer possibly had to say in a more clear manner. In the end, the group that intended to take what Eyshteer said to them as something with an grandier meaning to take immediate action became the majority, and civil war eventually broke out. In the end, Guennes' group won, and both regions began to be controlled by the theocratic order, the surviving king, descendent of an ancient hero, became the kingdom's monarch.

Many of the supposed black magicians are truth seekers, and the information that covered the contents swept under the rug was spread by those who were interested. Of course, there is much more to the communities of so-called black magicians than that.

Henri then contacted the maid Andreia, and was guided to a guest room, where he rested for a while. Rieth then knocked on the door, and when Henri opened it, he saw him with a girl.

Rieth: "Hello Henri. The Bishop has already left, and asked me to introduce his adopted daughter. Her name is Eleandor". The said girl has black eyes and hair, and a black wrinkle under the left eye. She wears a typically appropriate dress for someone of her status, and doesn't look all that different from a child under 10.

Henry: "..."

Rieth: "He hasn't informed you yet? The role Fleer expects of you is to educate and protect this child..."

Henri: "Educate her? What do you mean?"

Rieth: "You are expected to teach her about your magic. The Bishop expects great things from his daughter, and expects her to absorb and learn as much as possible. The Bishop still wants to know more about you before you assume this role, but he assures you that you will be protected in this mansion, provided you do not take any rash action. I will leave her here so that you can get to know each other better, tell me your opinion when the Bishop arrives."

Henri: "...It's good that things are already being cleared up."

Rieth: "Now I will go, I have my duties, I'll see you later when I come again for Miss Eleandor."

The knight goes ahead down the hall, leaving the girl behind. Henri is quite baffled by the situation, and was hoping the Bishop had informed him of something like that early, maybe he really was out of time? Weird.

Henri looks into the eyes of the girl, who is silent, and says: "Miss Eleandor, right?". She replies, "You can just call me Eleandor." Henri didn't like her name, it seems to be something tentatively created... And her quiet, serious complexion isn't something he likes to see in a child, or rather a person, it's a caricature of the difficulties that it will take to understand her, but on the other hand, it's a gesture of honesty on the other side, children like that are easier to be told. Henri always liked children, even trough they might be annoying to several people, their strange, weird innocence, even if they are doing something very wrong and causes prejudices for other, fascinates him, after all, he was once like that.

Henri: "I just arrived today. Did anyone tell you anything about me?"

Eleandor: "No, apart from the fact that you managed to survive countless bad spirits trying to possess you."

Henri: "...To be honest, 'surviving' is not the best term, but I know why you came to that conclusion."

Eleandor: "...So what did you go through?"

Henri: "An difficult situation, a path that I had to follow in the pursuit of fulfilling my desires. If I teach you, I hope you don't envision me as a great magician or someone capable of great deeds, but as just another human being who uses his imperfection to understand and go beyond his limits" while making his little speech, Henri remembers that he has this "terrible" habit of saying several things that most people do not understand, but in a way, it would be a test to understand his possible student, who already seems to show a certain maturity.

Eleandor: "I don't know exactly what you're talking about, buuut..." She pauses for a moment, not sure what she's going to say.

Henri: "Couldn't we go somewhere better? If you talk in a hurry, you won't be able to think straight."

Eleanor: "Right"

The two proceed through the spacious mansion, leave trough an side door, and walk through the garden, which is at the side of the mansion. Seeing that the girl is perhaps a little like him in her introverted ways, Henri asks her if she likes libraries. She doesn't seem to know the answer for half a moment, but says that she as read a few books.

Henri: "Books are one of the few sources of knowledge that we can evaluate and form conclusions through our own interpretations. When we hear others speak their ideas, we will know very little about the composition of their ideas by itself and the legitimacy of that person's intentions if we don't know how to think a reason for what they are directed and for what motives."

And continues: "All knowledge is useless if there is no intelligence. Now, what is a conflicting information if there is no mind able to decipher it? As you can end up being my student, I would like to tell you something: The mind of a thinker, of someone who seeks to solve problems and answer questions, he has his own problems as his medium... If you, instead, fear them, it's basically running alway from limitations already imposed even before knowing about them and how they influences you."

Henri was always fascinated by the idea of trying to teach a child, in his mind, they are able to understand easily, unlike most teenagers, who already have their minds full of nonsense at an early age.

The act of sacrificing his family can best be described as an act where he threw away half of his more "useless" self to make up for the shortcomings of his more "useful" side. Now there will no longer be a defective side, but the other half is missing. He became incapable of countless many things the moment he decided to do something unthinkable and absurdly immoral for many like killing his family. He did none of this with his own hands, but he still removed those bonds that had shaped his reality for many years since his birth. There are still other familiars, but he had made himself unable to want to look them in the eye due to his true deeds, as a signal to himself that he already went trough his own path. He deliberately forced himself to a specific destination, and he wouldn't regret it. For his problems are mere means, and the solution, the truth, is the end, following a repetitive dynamic process until there are either no more problems, or much more problems.

Eleandor: "Limitations already imposed?"

Henri: "Yes, I am referring to the limitations that everything has as part of nature. A cat is not able to speak like a human being, is it? That is a basic element of his composition. Of course, however, it's not because he is also a element of nature itself, that its property subjects it to an eternal, stagnate state in the face of its limitations. We human beings were also incapable, at a certain point, of writing or speaking as we do today. You himself must have been incapable of that, no?"

Eleandor: "Actually, I still can't read very well."

Henri: "It's part of the process, I only learned to read well at the age of 9, I think it took me a long time to do so. By the way, how old are you?"

Eleanor: "7"

Henri: "You're in the same boat as I was in the past then, i guess. Is the bishop teaching you?"

Eleandor: "My father tells me stories and gives me homework. Sometimes he gives me books with illustrations"

Henri: "He's doing well. You have to work hard too."

Henri doesn't know how much the girl managed to digest of what he said, and honestly, he's starting to get tired of talking, he needs to rethink everything, as he likes to do. Questioning "Isn't there anywhere to sit around here?", Eleandora replies: "Yes, there are".

She doesn't seem to know very well where it is, and the two walk around for a bit until Henri spots a spot with a ceiling and chairs. Henri sits down, and tries to talk more with the girl, because he has nothing to do.

Henri: "Do you know what the name of this town is?"

Eleandor: "hm... No"

Henri: "I'm not from here, but I've known it for some years already. We're in the extreme northwest of the small continent of Iguadesh, and this town borders the Rendranic Ocean. This is where the settlers cleared an region to establish colonies with an plantation system which uses trees and the nearby river as fertilizer. Named after its discoverer, an travelling merchant that was looking for exotic goods for new business and made an huge settlement here for pratical purposes, and so the city is called Theodoriel. South of here is the forest of Semiur, where your father found me, you can actually find all it and more in the maps, altrough the whole continent is not mapped yet because of the south areas, where hostile inhabitants make it impossible for adventurers to safely enter."

Eleandor: "Anyway, is it true that you are a great wizard?"

Henri: "We wizards are not so different from ordinary human beings. We use the magical power we obtain through the substance called mana, and we create magical contracts with spirits to be able to manipulate the forces of nature... I, however, i was able to obtain spirit power for myself in the forest of Semiur, and j believe that there will no longer be an need for me to be limited by mana and by spiritual contracts, which i think are pretty limited. i need to learn more before calling myself any "great wizard", however, i was a user of the wind element for a long time before getting my spiritual powers, and I know how to conjure and manipulate it without problems, do you want me to show you a little experiment?"

Eleandor: "I want to see."

"Very well," says Henri. Without concentrating too much, he forms a mini-tornado, which moves in the palm of his hand. He then makes the mini-tornado come out of it and go to the girl, who is amazed to see the tornado growing bigger and bigger while moving in the wind and going stronger. "What do you think? To form this whirlpool, I contract the wind and make it rotate and rotate against each other. I think I can make a lot more than that, but there's no need to show anything more dangerous. "

Eleandor: "Are you capable of doing even greater!?"

Henri: "Yes. The power that i possess to do so, however, is not infinite. In the future, perhaps I can explain more about this to you."

Eleandor: "I hope so!"

Henri spends more time arguing and turning his attention to the girl. She is not as innocent as you might expect from a child, but she definitely has the curiosity and ability to learn that makes him willing to want to teach. But that doesn't mean his destiny is already defined. First he wants to know what Fleer really plans, and why he should teach an little girl about magic, after all, if Fleer wants to teach her any sort of power, it would make more sense to teach her about his own abilites...

After a while, Rieth then comes to get her right after he says goodbye to her, then, he goes to visits the castle library and calmly reflects on the recent events. He managed to achieve the goals that he had been planning for years, and at the moment, he must organize his next steps. He doesn't really know what might happen in the region, the continent or even the world in the near future, and he needs to be more frantic and prepared than ever, even more so considering that he already lost a lot of time while he was in the cave. According to his discoveries, it's been two years since he went to the cave with his ambitious plan, he doesn't know what happened in the meantime, nor what is happening at the bottom of it all. The most sensible course of action he could take is to try to re-establish contact with some of his past partners, but perhaps the Bishop would be more willing to give him more information whilr Henri works for him, but he needs, before making any long-term decisions, to determine which are the bishop's goals and plans, for just as he does not walk blindly, he also doubts that anyone is so blindly naive as to put a stranger to work in his house and teach his own child.

As he wanders beside the shelves lined with books, he notices a concentration of books written by historians, including copies of books dating back centuries. The bishop seems to be interested in philosophy and matters dealing with the soul as well. Henri, however, is not interested in any of them, he never considered himself very interested in books, despite having already read a few hundred, being more interested in those that exclusively interestes him rather than via any pleasure in reading stories and obtaining news knowledge.

After getting bored from wandering through the library and looking at the books, he wanders around the mansion, looking for something that interests his before returning to his room. He sees that the mansion is not so luxurious, and it's probably isn't so old, being probably built in the past century, but it maintains part of the status worthy of a noble house, with several meticulously articulated decorations, proving that the Bishop certainly receives a lot of "treats" merely for his status as an important agent of the church, but, on the other hand, perhaps his family is or as also been influential. Henri, despite not being very interested in the lives of others, has a habit of seeking to study and understand people who seems interesting to him.

There are also the servants of the manor, who don't seem very busy at the moment, as it is already starting to get dark.

Eventually he returns to his assigned room. Despite the power he obtained and the huge trial he had to took it, Henri feels more sober than ever. Maybe it's because his room is kind of dark, but dark, self-contradicting thoughts suddently comes to his mind. After all, he got power, but for what exactly? He doesn't regret having sacrificed human lives, but would that be fair? In truth, will he need to sacrifice much more people in the future merely for his bannals desires? He starts to feel annoyed, noticing that something weird is going trough his brain, not something that happen just because the dark around makes his mind more focuzed to think, and by chance, he feels a presence approaching and becoming bigger behind him, until it turns static. An demonic circle appears suddently, and appears to be gradually disintegrating, perhaps due to the mansion's spiritual wards. He sees one of the demons he as known for a long time, Lunarius, with a relaxed grinning complex typical of his as if he is enjoying himself and everything he does, and a valve that grotesquely covers his eyes and head, partially covered by another hard valve, forming several small horns contoured from head to neck. Demons are able to freely control their anatomies, for their bodies are a mere formality, a hologram, so to speak, of their true forms, which are maintained via demonic power. Lunarius's body is reddish pale, and parts of its membrane can be seen not covered by tissue, and blood can be seen coursing freely in various parts of its body, a clear indication that it isn't an stable and sustentaible physical form, altrough it might be because he just passed trough an portal.

Lunarius: "Henri... You nailed it this time, hehehe. The girl who resides in this mansion, the bigshots want her urgently. But they are afraid of getting involved in something that is none of their business, or maybe i'd say that something is pushing them back? Anyway, could you help me? You'll have a lot to gain too, hehehe."

His words are heard directly trough Henri's hears, almost as if the voice is coming directly trough his brain, and he immediatly uses his magic to prevent any negative influence coming against his nerves, since demons create sounds by using their powers, who are corrupt by nature. Communicating with demons has always been a pain in the ass for some reasons, and thinking about it, while he knew that demonic power can influence humans, he never trough about the hipothesis that his mental troughs might have been directly influenced by it, and the people he worked with also never noticed anything, even when he questioned them about major side effects when dealing with demons. Maybe making people incapable of noticing it is one of the features of this power, but why he is able to notice it now?

Henri: "...Our cooperation has always benefited me with pleasure, but I don't think I can undertake any of it now that I'm quite in an unstable situation. Helping you with an kidnapping will only make me a fugitive, since anything strange would make me the prime suspect."

Lunarius: "Hey, power was always what you wanted most deep down, wasn't it, whatever changed now? Maybe you're no longer crazy or obsessive about it, but killing your family isn't proof enough that you doesn't need any ethic?"

Henri: "What are you trying to say with all that verbiage?"

Lunarius: "Look, I think you're a good candidate to become a demon, and, hehe, you'll also get the immortality i'm sure you wanted so much through this, I promise you that helping me will pay you off handsomely."

Henri won't care a damn about the demon's words, he is more focused on figuring out how to get rid of him quickly. It is not common for demons to look for humans, and Lunarius was most likely only able to teleport his physical form to where Henri is now because the two had already made an contract, and by that, Lunarius is naturally able to find out his location and use his former influence over Henri's body to form a magic circle nearby and send his corporeal form trough it. The real solution to this would be to break any contact with Lunarius by breaking any left element of demonic power with him, but Henri disputes that there might be a possibility that it could be useful in the future to purposely attract Lunarius.

Henri: "Let's do it this way: I'm still not ready to risk running away from here without an plan, since i'm also unlikely to be able to support myself in my current circumstances, nor i'm interested in becoming a demon... So, i can say that soon I'll tell you what I intend to do, but only when I contact you myself."

Lunarius: "But then I would have to blindy trust you, and we don't have such sort of compromise, no? Let's do it like this: I lend you a part of my power, and you prepare the conditions for the kidnapping to occur without problems, how about that?"

Henri: "It's an intriguing proposal, but in case you haven't noticed, we're in a house protected by white magic of sorts probably made by a Bishop... And you'll see that your magic circle is almost gone by looking at it..."

Lunarius doesn't move his head, but he seems to realize what Henri is talking about. Demons don't usually rely on their eyes to see anything, and by using their powers, they can notice several sorts of things in their surroundings, but perhaps there was a gross lack of attention on his part. It's not surprising for Henri, who knows how werdly he is after meeting him a lot: he often shows a gross lack of caution.

Lunarius: "Hehehe, and my situation here is way worse than it looks, i spent a lot of power on this, and it will be difficult to create another portal if i stay here until this one closes."

Henri: "As I said, once i call you, you'll be able to come at a more propitious time."

Lunarius: "Very well, I'll see you later, but if it takes too much, I might come here myself unnoticed hehehe."

Lunarius' body somehow desintegrates into energy while maintaning it's form, passing through the demonic portal before it's completely gone. Demons have quite convenient capabilities, and this is due to the fact that they are spiritual beings using physical bodies. There are living beings who become demons too, however, they usually have to rely on their physical forms to live freely, since if it ever gets destroyed, they will end up noticed and slaved by an more powerful demon, mostly because they can easily notice the location of each other. Interestingly, mostly of the most powerful demons seems to have fixed, original physical forms, this is due to the fact that they don't need to constantly use demonic energy to keep their bodies upright. Lunarius can be considered a "low level" demon, for the simple reason that he doesn't have one yet. On the other hand, their almost limitless power contributed greatly to the image of demons as invincible, terrific beings. Even a formidable warrior wouldn't stand a chance against a demon like Lunarius if he charged against him without preparations, but he would still be able to defeat other half and incomplete demons even weaker than him, like the so-called demonic servants and apostles, which forms vary from the demons they serve.

However, creating a permanent physical body requires a lot of power, and the more complex their astral "anatomy", the more power will naturally be needed. If Lunarius created a permanent body while he doesn't have the full power for it, it would probably be a useless body for him, since it needs to be compatible with his spiritual form.

Anyway, before, Henri briefly entertained himself the idea of calling Lunarius into a trap, but it doesn't seem very beneficial right now, as he still doesn't know of any method of permanently eliminating a demon. Even white magic, the name used for the magic utilized by the members of the church, apparently doesn't work very well against demons, altrough it does wonders against their servants and the efficiency of their powers, Lunarius was probably weaker since he was fighting in bad grounds.

Henri then stops thinking about it, and thinks about the girl he meet today, since Lunarius mentioned her. It's curious that the Bishop is wanting to appoint him as a teacher of magic for her, or perhaps tutor would be the correct word? He needs to discuss this with him later before making an decision. Furthermore, the fact that demons are after her also shows that there is something so special about her existence to the point that one even came to assign him a mission.

While he stays in his room, time passes, and eventually someone calls him through the door, Henri opens the door and sees Andreia, apparently she is the one who takes care of the guests. By looking at her features, one can see that she is dark blue haired, with her long hair combed equally to both sides, and her eyebrowns and eyes are also equally blue. She is surprisingly as tall as Henri, by both having around 6 feet tall. She has very clean face and hands, which makes Henri wonders if she is a noble or child of some rich merchant, altrough it's obviously pretty hard to see someone like that work as a mere servant.

Andreia: "Dinner is almost ready, and the Bishop has already arrived, he would like to talk to you in his room."

Henri: "Okay, I'll be on my way."

Henri then goes to the Bishop's room, which is on the second floor of the mansion. He knocks on the door, and the Bishop opens it, apparently alone again. The two sit down to talk, and Fleer offers some tea, which Henri accepts.

Fleer: "Certainly Rieth has already told you what i've asked him to say. Did you talk to my daughter and notice anything?"

Henri: "Yes, I did. She seems like a very rational girl, and... I somehow have a feeling that she definitely has a turbulent future ahead of her."

Fleer: "I share the same opinion. i always felt something ominous, which I can't explain, coming from her, i guess you also feels the same thing, uh. But let's get to the point, when i ask you to teach her magic and protect her, i'm not throwing into you a huge responsability without taking all things into account, much less am i asking something impossible or ridiculous. I'm sure that by taking this role both my daughter and you will gain a lot, which i'm sure that will also help me a lot for my plans to the future."

Henri: "Ok, but you want me to be just a teacher, or a full tutor?"

Fleer: "Both. Given her uncertain fate, i think she should be taught as much as possible. If you have anything to contribute, other than magical teachings, i ask that you to contribute, and if i see that the lessons are doing well for her, you'll certainly receive the adequate reward. In return, you will be able to live in this mansion, and you will normaly receive a salary of 2gp a month. One of the stipulations I enforce is that, Eleandor can only leave the house with both you and the knight Rieth present. Furthermore, I expect you to spend at least 5 hours together with Eleandor a day as her teacher, and, preferably in the afternoon, as Rieth also teaches her in the morning, altrough you two can both work together to teach her if ever arises any need. If I ask you to accompany Eleandor to protect her outside the manor, you must also comply with my order. And lastly, you must allow that i constantly feel you location and it's circumstances, at least when you'll be with Eleandor. To that end, I'll carve an mark on you arm, you can scan it with you magic if you like, but you'll see that the mark is just so I can sense you presence when you're near Eleandor."

Henri: "Okay, the clauses make sense, and I'll be satisfied with that salary."

Fleer: "Fine. I hope our cooperation makes much more sense from now on. Dinner should be ready by now, if you like, you can ask Andreia to bring meals to your room, but if you like, you can eat at the table in the main hall. Any preference is decided by yourself."

Fleer already seems to have said what he wanted to say. Henri would like to get more information from him, but he sees that now is not the time. Seeing that he will probably feel more comfortable eating in his room, he tells Andreia that he would like her to take his meals to his room. Going inside there, Henri think clearly that it's a comfortable room for him to live. It's not that big, but he can see empty bookshelves, a table and chair, a closet for clothes, and an upholstered bed. There are also windows, which look out to the sky. All of this was enough for Henri to consider something like that a "nice room", something practically ideal for his needs.

His biggest disappointment of the day was probably due to the fact that he was unable to get more information from the Bishop. He doesn't know if his ideal path is to continue in this house until he knows what his true intentions are. On the other hand, Henri admits to himself that he is probably not an individual easily seen as completely reliable, and is probably in the "testing" phase.

After dinning alone, he asks for sheets and an ink pen, and begins to write an letter:

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Hello grandma;

It's been 2 years since i sent my last letter. Sorry to take so long, but i had responsibilities my to focus on, and you know me very well. Are you all right? I got a steady job here in Teodoriel, and for the moment I'm going to live in a Bishop's mansion. I ask that you send me all my things that I have left in your care. Two of the gold coins I sent together with the letter are for the shipping fee to take all it here, the other 3 are an gift from me to you. My address is street Esvanecent, district 08, lot 20.

- From your dear grandson, Henri.

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Henri checked all the data he had to verify. By the way, tomorrow will be Saturday, and he'll need to wake up early to take that letter to the parcel. Either way, he won't be able to leave permanently leave this mansion until his items arrive, that's if come at all. Henri never really liked living in other people's houses, but he's decided to live in this mansion until he sees that everything is right to move to another place.