Valerian, The Legendary

Chapter 24: Chase.

Valerian was neatly dressed up after a few minutes and Quies bought him to the training area. The princess has ordered the people to seal this area. This will be used to train the boy.

Quies mumbled with his chin between his fingers, “So where were we?”

Valerian said, “The drawbacks and the secret of the Battle Mages.”

The man nodded and said, “I will tell you about it all as we run around the place, if you failed to sustain, then I will never mention this story again.”

Valerian nodded and then he followed Quies to run around the ground. The latter saw the child keeping up and said, “There are three types of blessed people in our world, Vita.

The mages, the warriors, and the rarest of them all, the battle mages. Do you know that the sky used to have three moons?”

Valerian was visibly shocked, thanks to the slow pace of the run he was able to react by shaking his head. Quies nodded and continued speaking, “Even I did not know about this until I found a record on one of my traveling campaigns outside the empire. The record was ancient and it was hidden inside a cave occupied by a Magical beast, Blood Bane Tiger. No wonder people did not find it.”

.....

Calming his breathing, Quies said, “The third moon was called Glagus. The word was derived from the combination of two words, Magus and Gladius. That was the moon of the battle mages, bigger and more vibrant than the two moons you see now.

You know that the people think, that the blessed people draw power from their patron moons. So, in the ancient times, the battle mages led the three groups. However, they were arrogant and never treated anyone with respect. In the end, the two groups, Mages and Warriors decided to put end to their supremacy.”

Valerian raised his eyebrow and using a single hand he asked, “How?”

Quies had occupied the majority of Valerian’s attention as the child did not notice that he was just slightly slower than a full sprint.

Quies did not want him to notice so he said, “They started a battle. A majority of the battle mages was assassinated and the strongest mages of the world gathered and cast a spell that pushed Glagus, into the darkness of the sky.”

Valerian opened his eyes wide, in his mind their was only one question, ‘Are you joking? How could men push back a moon?’

Quies replied, “You may think that I am absurd, however, you must have heard of a spell Armageddon. That spell is said to be the biggest taboo in the circle of magicians.

The power of that spell was too strong, but the price was the lives of a lot of innocent people and also those who wish to cast that spell. That spell could was what pushed back in the darkness.”

Valerian gulped a mouthful of saliva. He did not know what to believe it but he could tell that the story was not yet finished. He did not wish for it to finish.

“The two groups thought that if there was no moon in the sky then, there will be no Battle mages and they will be able to divide the world. However, they were wrong. Battle mages did not vanish, they only faced a restrictions, their skills, were not as flexible as they were when the moon was visible.

Ever since then, even if they are capable enough to kill the whole city, the battle mages became cautious in using their skills in front of too many people. They tried hard to overcome this limitation, but they were unable to do so.

Since then, battle mages had began to put a lot of emphasize on their trainings. Because the rigidity makes them vulnerable. I also think that this is the way it should be, everyone cannot do everything.”, said Quies.

Valerian did not say much but nodded silently, he finally realized why Quies had forbidden him from using too many magic spells.

As the boy got lost in thoughts, he forgot that he was still running, and even did not see that the older man had stopped running and was standing at the side of the road watching him run.

Before he could even put the guy on the training, they needed to build up his stamina, and running was the best way. When Valerian sensed his steps becoming unsteady, but he could not control them much.

Quies cast him a gaze and said, “Come rest, you have done good.”

Valerian stopped and began to pant with his hands on his knees. Quies said, “You can rest for ten minutes, and then we will start again. Okay.”

These words were like a bliss for the child, he sat down on the ground and began to catch his breath. His gaze was set at the clear skies. And before he knew it, ten minutes were over.

Quies said, “Go start again. You can select your own pace.”, he did not even look at Valerian as he sat on a chair with his eyes closed.

Valerian nodded and then he stood up, followed by a run. The speed would fluctuate throughout the run. After completing five rounds approximately eight hundred meters in total, the boy was dragging himself.

Quies said, “Come here.”

Valerian followed the instruction and Quies said, “Do you feel like your chest is burning?”

The boy nodded, and the butler asked, “Your legs are crying?”

Valerian understood the expression and nodded. The man said, “This feeling is called the forging. This burning feeling, and this pain will forge your body into a stronger thing. It will be like a blacksmith forging a sword.”

The boy nodded, if not for the fact that he was too tired and could not even use his hands to make signs, he would have said, ‘I do not know if I will die first or become strong.’

Quies said, “After an hour of rest, you can start again. This is your routine for the next seven days, your meals will be served here and you will be sleeping in the field as well. I will have someone arrange a tent for you.”

The boy gawked at him and the man said, “Do not look at me like that, after a week it will become easier. Remember your goal?”

Valerian heard the last sentence and his eyes lit up with a bright spark. He nodded and sat down on the ground to catch his breath. His body was wailing in pain and he needed to find a way to get relief.

He raised his hand and heard a voice, “No magic.”

Casting a bitter glare to the man, Valerian began to massage his legs with his hands with great effort. Quies looked at him and nodded. The massage can regulate the blood flow in his body and will help him ease up the pain.

Time passed at the end of the hour, Valerian stood up and go to work again. After running for so long, he has found a rhythm of his steps and the pace to run for longer.

Quies nodded and was about to go back inside, he found that the princess was standing behind him with Priscilla.

He bowed and said, “Your Highness. When did you arrive.”

Azula smiled and said, “Just as you were standing up. Seems like our skills are keeping up, the guardian of the west did not sense us approach.”

Quies sighed and said, “You glorify me, Your Highness.”

Azula asked, “How is it going?”

“He has ran around the ground thrice already and found his own pace and rhythm. Your highness, his potential is great, it is as if an uncut diamond. Take a look his steps. They are slightly heavy, but they are steadier than his last run and as he moved forward, it becomes better.”, pointed out.

Azula nodded and cast her gaze at the boy running in the distance. She said, “He is indeed a diamond. However, keep his skills under a tight wrapping for the time being. I have just received a message from my trusted aides in the Imperial Palace. My two brothers are gearing up for the final chase.”

Quies nodded and said, “I understand your highness. I will make sure that he does not use magic, so the world will only see him as a warrior.”

Azula nodded, she turned to Priscilla, who was gazing at the boy and said, “What are you thinking about?”

The maid said, “Your highness, his reflexes needs to be trained simultaneously with his physical condition.”

Azula nodded and asked, “Do you have any suggestions?”

Priscilla said, “I can use magic to train him. I wonder if Sir Quies will allow?”

Quies nodded and said, “You are most welcome, however, please make sure not to push him too much all of a sudden, he might cast a magic spell, and it will become a standard reaction from him.”

Priscilla nodded and said, “I will keep this in mind. Thank you for your permission, sir.”

The three people looked at the boy running in the distance, indulged in there own thoughts about his future, and how, he will move forward in the future.

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