Eidolon Earth: Candidate Author

In front of me lay the headless corpse of the scarred man.

The sword of emptiness dissolved in my hands returning to oblivion and I looked around to see the faces of enemy which had gone pale.

After a while later Sir Graham came to me

“My lord we are done” he said in a low voice.

I turned just a bit to see 8 more corpses join the scarred man and his brother.

“Let us leave” I said in a flat tone.

“Lord Daniel” Sir Graham spoke.

“Hmm?” I stopped

“…………”

“…………”

I turned when Sir Graham didn’t say anything.

I looked in his eyes which were dead serious.

“Can we get an explanation for earlier?” he finally said.

All the escort guards and even Hayato-san began to look at me with expectations.

I sighed

“When he was about to kill me, I heard a voice” I lied continuing “After that time slowed and I felt as if I am sucking air from countless noses” I said.

For some reason Hayato-san’s eyes widened.

“C-could it be the blessings of a spirit king?” one of the escorting guards began to tremble with excitement.

Sir Graham moved his gaze towards the young soldier which made him freeze and then looked at me again.

“Whatever it was-” he bowed “Thank you for saving my men”

I was flustered by such an action.

“Eh? Please lift your head Sir Graham I only did what I should”

At my reaction everyone present there smiled.

“Halt” said a man in a steel armor with a different badge on his chest this time.

We showed them the papers and insignia of Parshara Kingdom.

Hearthglen was the biggest hub for scholars. All the history texts which remained intact were stored here. Every form of knowledge was available here, It would not be wrong to say that knowledge was the currency here.

“Parshara?” the knight guard seemed to be confused.

He stayed buffering straight up for 5 minutes.

Then the other guard whispered to him.

“Aren’t those the ones who still worship that old god?” he said

‘Hey! I heard you’ I wanted to say but due to being short on time anyway I avoided it.

We entered Hearthglen.

The air was warm and dry, absolutely opposite of Vaeldor principality.

The road was made up of smooth stone arranged neatly.

We were welcomed by the smell of ink and paper the moment we entered.

There were a variety of shops and buildings made up of bricks and cobblestone.

“Still no drawings and decorations” I heard Hayato-san say that next to me.

“That will be 2 silver for a night stay and 1 silver for the meals included” the receptionist grinned.

I paid in advance and took the keys to our rooms, 1 room for 2 people each, that made it 5 rooms.

The moon was up in the sky, lunar light colored the whole room in dim blue.

I sat upright slowly, moved towards the table with soundless steps meanwhile Hassan changed position countless times in his sleep.

I took a thin woolen blanket from the table and wrapped it around my face. Changed into simpler clothes and opened the window.

Cold air rushed past me. I took a deep breath, held the edges of the window and put one feet on the edges ready to jump out.

The time slowed and a warm flow began to seep into my nerves and muscles. I jumped onto the roof of the opposite building. The world dissolved partially.

My body felt light and my senses cleared. I opened my eyes and saw far away a kid pestering his mom for a board game.

I took a run and jumped as far as I could. I crossed 4 buildings in one jump landing in an alley this time.

I walked out of the alley and began to explore the city. Many shops were closed and some prepared to close soon.

Only a few people wandered around the street. Some people slept on the side of the road probably beggars.

Tap! Tap! Tap!......

My steps echoed on the empty footpath while I looked lazily browsed the items in the shops.

Tap! Tap! Ta!-…….

My steps came to a stop.

I reverse geared a couple of steps and saw an old damaged book lying on a roadside stall.

The books lay on a cloth and a man with a huge brown cowboy hat dozed off by the wall.

The dim yellow light from the glowing stone flickered highlighting the title of the book.

‘Old Rhymes for Children’

I looked or rather stared at a certain page to which the book lay opened.

The First Doctrine

It was a small poem.

I touched the rough, worn out page and turned it.

The next page however was missing.

“Many pages are missing from that book” an old and hoarse voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked up to see the dozing old man looking at me, caressing his grey and dirty beard.

“You seem to like that book quite a lot” he smiled.

No I wanted to say

“Yes” the reply however came on its own before I could stop it.

He extended his hands and made a sign representing ‘one’.

“1 copper coin” he said.

I never wanted to buy the book, but at that time I didn’t know why, but my heart urged me to find a copper piece urgently and put it in the hands of that old man.

I desperately tried to find the copper coins in my pockets or anywhere but I couldn’t.

‘Strange, I had some money on me while leaving the inn, I am sure’

I stopped realizing I was broke at the moment.

‘I don’t have money old man.’ I was about to say and move on

But my legs froze and refused to move anywhere.

The old man’s smile widened eerily as if he knew all along.

His wrinkled hands grabbed one end of the book, lifted it and put it in my hands which obeyed a foreign will.

“Take it” he said.

“I can’t, thi-“I tried to raise my voice at the actions of the old man.

“Think of it as a loan, given by a poor old soul to a capable young soul” he continued interrupting me.

“If however you don’t like it, consider repaying later with interest to elevate the status of this poor old man” he smiled, his blackened teeth on full display. His sunset eyes shining brighter than ever.

He gave a ridiculous smile, an exaggerated smile, a tired smile.

When the book touched my skin, my heart swelled and a childlike happiness settled in my heart. It was as if I had found something for which I had craved from the very beginning.

He finally stood up. Tied the four corners of the cloth on which his whole daily bread depended and walked towards some unknown destination. His naked feet made no sound or as if the world itself forgot about him.

I asked at last “Can I know your name?”

The old man turned and said “My name does not matter however, if you insist you may address me as Noizea”

The man’s shape changed into a shadowy sillhoute and finally dissolved in the dark night.