Chapter 11 - The truth behind Eric's Mother

Hearing that Eric specifically asked about his mother, Woldemir's heart sunk in burden and anxiety was making his collar feel tighter. But after what he witnessed, he felt that Eric can be capable of handling the truth. He manhandled hundreds of ill.u.s.tratios. Maybe his heart is strong as well, what's the worst that can happen?

"Eric. Your mother was rather unique.

We tried to hide that fact from the world before, but somehow... those god forsaken ill.u.s.tratios found out."

As Mogranius sunk further into explanation, recalling this big burden in his life made a moment feel like a day. If it's hard for Eric who doesn't even know anything, how hard would it be for Woldemir who carried this burden for 15 years?

"What did they find out?" Eric knew that everyone was looking at him, and usually he prefers to be a shadow, in the background, unseen. But he reached to a situation where he has to put his social anxiety aside, ignore the eyes looking at him and listen. He had to focus on what his father is saying, the topic is rather sensitive.

"One night, i woke up to flames and smoke. Those ill.u.s.tratios found out that your mother is... a Witch." Letting out that information felt like an old burden was being lifted off of Woldemir, and replaced by a new one, probably even heavier.

Able to put two and two together due to the stories he heard from other kids about witches, a tear drops down from his eye, flows down his cheek and gently landed on the ground underneath him. Having it hard to utter any word, with his upper lip quaking and his eyes shining in tears he is trying to hold back, he finds what it takes to ask a question.

"So tho.. those bastards killed my mother? They bu... burned her? They burned my mother?" Asking that question, made him lose control of his feelings. What started from one tear, continued with several tears rolling down one after the other with no sign of stopping. He was close to a mental breakdown, but he stood strong in front of other eyes.

"Yes. It's hard to tell you this but the ill.u.s.tratios killed your mother. In Fact they tried to kill all three of us." Grabbing Eric by the shoulders to show comfort while telling the story, he continues with the hardest to hear part. "I woke up to flames and smoke but i wasn't on my bed. The smoke put me in a deep sleep. The smoke didn't take down your mother though. When i was awake she already dragged me all the way through the room and threw me out of the bedroom window."

Feeling the warm presence of his father, his tongue felt lighter and his tears dropped less. Able to still think logically even after considering the bundle of emotions, he asks an obvious question. "But at this rate she should of survived along with us. She was a Fire Controller after all! How did she..."

"Right after I woke up, I crawled up on the window and saw your mother approaching with three month old you on her arms. But... right after she handed you to me, the building... collapsed. Almost half of the house collapsed as the support beams that held up the walls, burned and broke. Your mother got crushed under the collapse." Taking a deep breath to relieve his stress, Woldemir added "That is how your mother, Isabel. Died."

The skin around Eric's eyes becomes more red by the second due to all the tears that have dropped from his eyes. But this, it was the final blow he needed to reach a mental breakdown. "So it is my fault. It's because of me she couldn't escape in time? Because of me she got crushed by that burning house? She died while rescuing me!"

Woldemir shouts from the top of his lungs. "Neither you or I or your mother are to blame. If those bastards didn't lit the house on fire, none of this would have happened. The ill.u.s.tratio are to blame. Right after the building collapsed, I've heard them yelling "Burn. Burn you wicked witch. The ill.u.s.tratios rule this Country. We rule everything. We are superior. Magical beings have no place here. BURN!" That voice has been haunting me ever since. It has been haunting me for fifteen years straight Eric."

Reaching to the point where Eric can't think straight anymore, he let out his anger through shouting! "VENGEANCE! VENGEANCE has to be taken towards those bastards. I will burn their entire Kingdom to the ground. My mother's blood will never be left to dry on the ground."

Trying his best to comfort Eric, he let's go of Eric's shoulders and pulls him into a hug. The warmth of a father's hug removed half of the Burden Eric started carrying today from this topic. Indeed it was great, and he likely didn't experience it for a long time due to the distance he kept from his father. But now he feels like a fool to do so, all Woldemir tried to do was protect him. "Indeed we will take Vengeance. I loved your mother more than anything in my life, do you think that i will simply leave her blood to dry on the ground? She completed me." Letting go of the hug and grabbing one of Eric's shoulders lightly, he continues under a rather more lighter tone after taking a deep breath. "Eric, my son. We have a chance to fight back. We have the chance to free this land. We have the chance to take Vengeance in the name of many families whom died in the hands of these beasts. But they all have the date and time. First we need to find that teleportation book.

I think that's how Akareas was in contact with the Electus before her. We need as much help as we can get. And who would help better than another Electus?"

Knowing the importance of this new task, he still felt very uncomfortable to proceed with it after what he saw in Crutal Kingdom. "But you saw that man or beast or whatever he was. He was too powerful to beat. Even compared to my powers, he is far beyond stronger. Even if i burst in the castle and shoot at everything, he will beat me."

Feeling the appropriate time to jump in the conversation, when he saw that the Father and Son talk became lighter, Mogranius interrupts. "Eric. We won't be bursting in. We can use smoke to become invisible. At your rate it will only take a moment to learn. We will go in and out of the Castle without being noticed by anyone."

Hearing the word "invisibility using smoke", Eric felt quite mazed. But he will understand what Mogranius meant sooner or later. "In that case we do have a chance to find something." A thought popped up on Eric's mind, concerning the one thing everyone seemed to have forgotten about. Rather acceptable considering that they were chased from a goddamn army in Crutal Kingdom. "But for now where will we stay? Going to our house is far too dangerous. Chances are they already burned it down. Speaking of houses, father. If we lost everything in that fire, how did you buy that Farmhouse?"

Hearing that question, it was Stefan's time to shine, again. "Actually, that farmhouse is originally mine. I let your father live in it with you. It was the least I can do. I wanted to help more but i already was paying outrageous taxes to the ill.u.s.tratios even back then." But yet again even though it is his time to shine, he chose to show admiration towards Woldemir. Talk about being selfless. "You and your father are lucky to be alive. Even after being weakened down from the smoke, he travelled from one Continent to the other without a Gold Coin in his pocket to escape the madness. It took him weeks. It's not easy to travel without a horse."

But Eric still couldn't ignore the bundle of good deeds Stefan did, Eric sticked to thanking him. "Stefan. From the beginning you helped us a lot. You were like our Guardian Angel. And today you stood up against ill.u.s.tratios." Trying to tell a joke to lighten the mood, he added" I don't regret at all for not letting you fall when I tossed you." But Stefan mentioning horses before, made Eric realize another fact. He first looked around to make sure his question is worth asking. But he found no horse in sight. "Speaking of horses. I think we left BlackWind back at Crutal Kingdom."

"Oh no."

"Well we can't carry a horse."

"Looks like we didn't leave him there after all."

After that they see BlackWind running through the woods braking branch after branch and bush after bush. A six foot tall half a ton horse would leave landmarks like that easily. But they all were happy that BlackWind made it. He is part of the family after all. Now all of the Gang members are together.

The moment BlackWind reached them(with an ill.u.s.tratio guard's helmet tangled on his hair), they were all happy to see BlackWind in one piece. And all of them ran towards the beautiful horse, and rubbed his fur and with big smiles on their faces they kept repeating.

"HaHa that's our horse."

"That's our beauty."

"He is our soldier."

"The ill.u.s.tratio he ran over will have nightmares."

"If he is alive that is."

"He is a good boy."

"A good strong boy."

But apart from all the compliments BlackWind got, he turned towards Woldemir and blew his hot nose air on Woldemir's face in an angry manner. He didn't like how he got left behind. Horses got feelings too, but loyalty even more.

"I know boy. It was unfair to leave you behind. But we were all lucky to escape alive. I knew you can handle yourself enough to escape from that hellhole." Talked Woldemir to the horse as he rubbed the fur on the horses belly.

BlackWind yet again blows hot air through his nose towards Woldemir's face and walks away. Not far away though. Just a few feet apart from the gang to chew on a bush.

"Well since the whole gang's here, how about we move on?" Pointed out Woldemir but met himself seeing many perplexed faces.

"Move on? Move on to where? We can't live under a bush."

"A moon away(30 km) is the underground town of an extinct race. The town is called Lan Zhe. Their race was called "Calidum Lutum". They were able to control lava. A small population though. Their underground town is mostly dirt and rock, but it leads to a stunning underground Volcano." Explaining where they are going, everyone but Stefan weren't able to catch up and thought that Mogranius was talking straight fiction.

"A race like that actually exists?"

"Well i can see why their race included a small population. Who would want to live underground?" Pointed out Woldemir. "But still. How did they go extinct? Did the ill.u.s.tratio kill them?"

"No No. Actually they went extinct thousands of years ago. When our Continent Ignis, was one. War followed when certain Kingdoms wanted their own "independent land".

Even though they wanted that land to build an army to force more land under their name. That is how our Continent has four Countries now. Back then it used to be all one. The Calidum Lutums disappeared right after the war started." Its probably not the wisest idea for Mogranius to stop the group here and tell a story while Soldiers are probably being sent to hunt them down. But hey, education is important. "Which is hard to explain why they disappeared. Because they controlled Lava and were even ten foot tall. They weren't defenseless either way. They were gone so long that everyone assumed they went extinct after a few centuries passed."

"It is terrifying how many civilizations war destroyed. I will do everything in my power to stop this war. War destroyed a Civilization who sounds so extraordinary. I would've loved to learn more and more about them." Hearing what Eric had to say, Woldemir felt dumbfounded. There are three things that Eric hates, ill.u.s.tratios, learning and reading. Is he really his son?

"It is a shame that they all died but in our case their home is our roof now. And since that race went extinct so long ago, I doubt that anyone would look for us there." Giving a smirk after, Stefan continued. "An ill.u.s.tratio is far too arrogant to know the location of such unique ex civilization."

"Indeed. But we won't reach there by talking. Let's get moving, the ill.u.s.tratio could be by our tail." Pointed out Mogranius yet again grabbing the attention of the group.

"And no flying this time. We might get spotted. It's not an everyday scene for these people to see flying men. They would notice us. Also, last and most importantly, BlackWind can't fly."

"Ok then, I can't argue with that logic. To the underground town named Lan Zhe we go."