The four were beginning to glow in society, but only Elric felt heartache at his. The rumors spoke only of his greatest mistake and less his abilities. It made him grimace at a thought, but at least the knights treat him nicely. Every knight was willing to exchange a word or two with him even despite those rumors. Needless to say Elric soon became good friends with several knights. One knight in particular was Jack, the older brother and opposite of Jerry. After multiple discourse with the man, Elric saw Jack favored a simpler life, unlike Jerry’s constant profit-seeking mind. It was of little surprise that Elric enjoyed talking with Jack. He could count on Jack being there for an interesting chat if Kite was busy. And not only that, but Jack was an excellent sparring partner.

The benefits of being friends with Jack were plentiful. That’s why Elric sought him out first to learn more about Charle.

Not much was happening with a barrier being erected around the carriage, so Elric left to find Jack. Right by the edge of the barrier, Jack was just about ready to go on patrol when he was found by Elric. Managing to swap places with another knight, Elric and Jack formed a squad with either other knights to a campsite further ahead. Located near the foot of a mountain, this campsite was marked for them on a map and would require reconnaissance to ensure its safety for the envoys.

And so off they went. On horseback, each rider traveled swiftly and without reserve, knowing that they had a secondary horse if their first were to run out of stamina. It was a silent journey as the dust and sand kicked up by the horses made conversation undesirable. All they could do was dip their heads low and spur their horses forward across the wasteland. 

The sun was setting, but the weather had yet to dip. Hot and dry, the weather eventually sapped away enough of the warhorses’ stamina for Jack to give the order to swap horses. Elric dismounted quickly off his horse and looked up to the sky. Surely the carriage and the rest of its entourage were on their way by now.

“How much longer til we reach the campsite?” He asked.

Jack studied the map in his hand, “We’ve a third of the way left to go, if my estimation is right.”

“The rearguard won’t arrive by nightfall then, I’m afraid.” A knight dismounted from his horse.

“A messenger will be dispatched once we arrive. They’ll be able to arrive if they hurry.”

Resituated on a new horse, the group renewed their journey at Jack’s command.

The wind was picking up now that day was turning into night. It was blowing so fiercely that by the time the knights arrived at the campsite, each one of them were covered by a thick layer of dust from head to toe.

Jack and the other knights took to securing the campsite at once. Once cleared, one of the knights was ordered to return while the others began to set up.

This campsite was special in that it was next to the only lake within the wasteland. Elric could also sense an underground river, but this was something special to 

him

. While he couldn’t use magic in the conventional sense, his ability to perceive the flow of energy and its tendency to gather made up for it.

The lake was also the reason why the nearby trees could grow. This was the only place within the wasteland to have them.

Given their time to rest, the knights led their horses to the lakeside for a drink. Behind the campsite, Elric and Jack scaled up a small hill for a vantage point. And what a view it was! The lake, curvy in path like the crescent moon, shone with a nice reflection from the sunset glow. Foliage grew alongside the lake and gave the landscape a nice green touch. Mist was also prominent in this oasis, but not prominent enough to hide the mountainous landscape around. Though life was teeming around the lake, the mountains weren’t as fortunate. The higher up one went on these mountains, the less green it became. Many mountains didn’t even have a single tint of green by the time one was at its halfway point. 

Regardless, this place was like a shining pearl within the night. But even farther away in the distance, beyond the mountains, plumages of smoke spiralled up into the night sky like spectres dancing in the night.

While Jack circled around the hillside searching for something, Elric laid back. Head resting on his arm and his back against the grass, he laid there and drank in the atmosphere.

Then he remembered something he wanted to ask Jack.

“Jack, are you familiar with Charle?”

“Hm? Charle? Why do you ask?”

“I’m just curious. All the knights seem to respect Charle, but that can’t just be because he’s royalty.” 

Members of royalty and nobility being in the Royal Guard was common and to be expected. That was why the kingdom valued merit and education above lineage. It was a mark of great honor and pride to be a Royal Guard than it was to brag about their own lineage. Not even royalty could hope to use their pedigree to better their standing as a Royal Guard . And that’s why Elric found it so strange that Charle was respected by them.

“Surely you know Charle’s real name?”

This was something Elric found hard to like about Jack’s character. As fond as Jack was at answering questions, he always did so with a question of his own. An indirect response was annoying, but that was the name of the game and Elric had no choice but to play it.

He already knew Charle’s real name was Grien but not how aristocratic naming sense worked.

“Yeah, Grien. What about it?”

Jack sat down next to Elric, “You don’t pay attention to surnames, do you. You probably don’t even know my surname!” He laughed.

Embarrassed, Elric didn’t answer. In all his life in his small hometown, everyone knew one another. What point were surnames if everyone was like family? A first name was all they needed. The practice of learning surnames and addressing people with them was practically unheard of for him.

The grin on Jack’s face widened at Elric’s silence. “Grien Talzinkur. His ancestor was one of our kingdom’s heroes and one of the Twelve at the Day of Victory.”

He paused here, as if to relish the stories of old. Elric saw this type of expression before on Kite’s face. Supposedly it took time for knights to recover from a meditative state like this.

“Grien Talzinkur. Once a Holy Champion, but no longer. No one knows why he gave up knighthood to become a mercenary.”

Jack stood up with a sigh. Dusting himself off, he began to trek down the hill while Elric was left to stare at his retreating figure.

So Charle was a Holy Champion once?

It boggled his mind to think about it, but there was another pressing matter that had to be taken care of.

Off in a distance, beyond the campsite, a giant cloud of dust was being kicked up. This wasn’t a natural phenomena but the result of a group of horseback riders.

Elric had studied strategies before the mission began. Every dangerous precedent had been analyzed and the appropriate action instilled deep in Elric’s mind so he’d know what to prepare for.

He never thought the journey would be peaceful and relaxing. The standing army of Karth was worrisome, but also the many bandits that took residency in this wasteland. Not only was it surrounded by two different oceans, but it was also on the border of four separate kingdoms. It was perfect, in that case, for the fugitives all over to gather here and form groups. Many of these bandits were nomadic as well, opting to roam around unrestricted while others established territories.