Odyssey of the Guardian Emperor

The room spread out before him, large enough to be converted into a Throne room capable of housing a hundred people. It was no Throne room, though. This was a luxurious bedroom that went against all the rules of a minimalist.

A table set with a glowing aether crystal and several stacked rolls of parchment sat right beside a large window, golden curtains blowing in the wind.

The bed sat on the other side, big enough to comfortably hold six people. On top of that, crystals lit up the room from all sides on top of the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, giving the room a unique aether flow.

"The aether here… It's so pure," Alaric mused.

"The whole demiplane is rich with aether. This room, though, remains one of four places with even richer aether than the rest," the High Sentinel's voice went melancholic as he stared into it, "It was one of my favourite projects to build."

Alaric stared at this room and saw a door leading to the bathroom, another leading into a room filled on all sides with garments of all kinds, many designed far beyond what his imagination could cook up.

Walking past Alaric, the High Sentinel led him into the bathroom, "The water can be warmed with a simple infusion into the water faucets. Just turn this knob here and invoke the name of the Constellation of Fire. It will adjust to the necessary warmth needed for a comfortable bath, so you don't need to worry about adding cold water. The tub also keeps the water warm. That was my idea. It was later adopted by most of the citizens of the demiplane. Haha, good times."

The High Sentinel left the rune-encrusted faucet alone and pointed to a cream towel held on a bar, "There is a towel there. When you're done using it, place it in that basket and it will be cleaned. You'll find it back on the bar when it's ready for you."

"More magic?"

"Yes," the man answered, then continued the tour. With each revelation, Alaric's expression paled. The room's appearance alone, it seemed, wasn't enough to explain its depth of luxury. This continued to the closet lined from top to bottom with outfits Alaric had no business using.

The tour ended with them back at the doorway. "Now, I know this all seems too much too fast, but it's yours. I always had… hope that you would return, so we kept this temple in shape for when you'd return to it. I know how much you're going to travel, so I'll say this now. You'll always have a home here. It's one of many, but it's here for you and your friends.

"It is too much. More than much. Much can't describe this," Alaric answered.

"You're welcome," the old man smirked, "Now, you must rest. Is there anything else you'd like to know? I can have someone prepare you a meal if you're hungry."

"No," the boy was quick to stop him, "I couldn't eat another bite after the Founding Festival."

"Oh!" the man's eyes widened, "June finally managed a domain. That's good for her. I'll be sure to send her my congratulations."

"You know her?"

"We met over a decade ago. Hard to forget a Stone Rank with her kind of spirit," the man nodded.

"I know what you mean," Alaric nodded. She shifted his gaze back to the room once again, feeling visibly out of place. Drawing his lips to a thin line, he sighed, "If this is my room, I wonder what yours must look like."

The High Sentinel chuckled, "Oh no. My room is smaller than this. Soren hated this sort of thing, and so did I. I assume you hate it, too, but unfortunately, the Constellation Delphi wouldn't have it any other way," the man's words were getting faster the more he spoke, "The bath draws water from the Shimmering Creek, purifies what's used and returns it, so don't worry about wasting anything. You are due for a tour tomorrow, so do get your sleep. And lastly, thank you for considering a stay here."

Alaric held the doors, which were already swinging shut, "Wait… Why am I the one in this room?"

"I already explained that," the old man smiled, "Good night, Protector."

WHAM went the double doors, leaving Alaric in the spacious room. He turned to it like a cornered mouse.

'I forgot to ask for his name… and since when do mortals speak to the Constellations?' Alaric's question lingered.

{

Query: Since when do mortals speak to the Constellations?

References: Constellations and the stars; A Guide to the Thirteen Constellations; The Divine Scramble for the Calendar; Night under the Stars;

Answer: Myths and Legends suggest mortals of old communed with the Constellations, going back at least two thousand years. Evidence of their influence and Divine Will can be found in the very fabric of our Continent, Aether. According to Night under the Stars, it was said that the Guardian Emperor, presumed myth, was a messenger of the Constellations, while others say he was their favourite mortal.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

}

'What on the Valerian continent…' Alaric stood still, digesting the information.

Communing, evidence, Divine Will, Favourite mortal? These terms flew through his skull like sprites intent on driving his tired mind to madness.

[ Sabre, you heard all that, didn't you? ]

[ Heard what? ] The puma rushed to his aid.

[ N-never mind. ] Alaric lightly pinched the bridge of his nose and retired to the shower, dipping his head in the warm bath he managed to draw a few seconds later.

'All of this would be so much easier with Alia around,' he groaned.

An hour later, he emerged from the bathroom, dried himself off and dropped into bed. Runes lit up around the wooden frame of the bed, activating a familiar, comforting breeze which sent him straight to sleep. There was no delay, no moments of drowsiness, no lingering thoughts.

By the time Alaric regained any semblance of consciousness, his mind arose within the calm surroundings of his realm in the In-Between.

He looked at the tree above him and squinted. Its leaves swayed in the wind, rustling amongst the thick branches.

'Does this tree look bigger than before?' he briefly thought to himself.

Right now, though, he didn't care for that. His chest ached, and he desperately wanted to fill the gaping hole in his heart. The black knight was exactly where he'd left her, at the edge of their realm.

Alaric shifted his gaze to a flurry of movement and spotted a puma staring at the black knight from the cover of the meadow. WorldHammer was comfortably hiding behind the small island in a size that was much easier to conceal while the white clone slept peacefully under the tree, unbothered by the tension around him.

Alaric sighed and made his way to the knight. When he reached her, she kept her head turned away from him.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice begging to be left alone.

Alaric rubbed the back of his head, then returned his hands to his hips, "My guardian. I want… my guardian."

The knight continued to hug her knees, though, so Alaric sat behind her, keeping his distance. She wouldn't say another word, so he thought he might.

"So, yesterday was crazy. I woke up refreshed after sleeping for a week. I should have known what the day had in store for me, though. By the end of it all, I could barely keep my eyes open… and that all happened without getting into as much as a single fight."

"Finn and Brett took me around Melbourne. It's being reconstructed very fast by the way, and…"

"I saw all that…"

"Right…" Alaric paused, realising his mistake. His guardian had been with him up until the point he was forced into a Tempering Ritual, but that also helped him make his point. She'd barely been gone a day, and yet the gaping hole she left behind was this disorienting. "It's lonely without you."

"You were a happy child before I came along," Alia replied coldly, "I see no reason why you can't go back to that."

"A happy child in a peaceful village, during a peaceful time. Without you, I'll soon be a dead child," Alaric responded. His heart ached, and much as he was tired of it, he couldn't see himself without his guardian. What bothered him more was that she knew this, and yet she acted this way in spite of it.

"You're stronger than you know," she responded, a hint of warmth filtering into her cold tone.

She'd said this before as well, but during Alaric's battle against Avaros, whatever truth she'd been talking about never manifested, even when he was brought closer to death than he'd ever been. As far as Alaric knew, he was alive because of his guardian.

His heart raced. He wanted to yell at her and tell her she was wrong, but he stopped himself. Alia never listened when he yelled. Fortunately, she'd closed herself off from their bond, so she wouldn't know how he felt.

'Maybe I'm the one being so inconsiderate,' he took a deep breath. Perhaps the guardian's mind was so preoccupied with memories too painful for her to even function properly. Memories she couldn't bear reliving, and yet they still plagued her. Or maybe it was because she never thought Alaric would learn of their existence that they tormented her. The last assumption, while plausible, was the most unfair.

"You've been there for me for as long as I can remember. To be honest, at times when I acted like this, you'd say I was being a…"

The guardian scoffed, "A wimp. I know."

"Exactly," Alaric answered, "But I don't think that of you. I think you're the last thing from a wimp I've ever seen. You're brave, smart and insanely strong. I laid everything bare for you to see. My whole life, short as it might be, and I wouldn't expect you to tell me everything about yours—"

"Good."

'I wasn't finished,' he wanted to scream at her. A short silence punctuated their conversation, allowing Alaric to recognise the lack of progress.

"Is that the limit of our bond, Alia?" He whispered, "Will you forsake me to hide what hurts you, when you know it hurts me too? When you know I'd do anything to ease your pain."

"You know nothing of pain, Little Prince," the guardian hissed.

"All I feel right now is pain, Alia," Alaric's voice broke like a quiet scream in a noiseless abyss. "I saw Aslan's memories. I watched LionHeart endure this… this onesided torture for years, and when the King of Lions finally accepted him, he was already too broken to fix. The bond they build now is different from the one you and I have."

Alia, who'd been looking away all that time, turned just a bit so she would see the boy speaking. Tears rolled down his eyes in torrents.

In the depths of her dark eyes, however, Alaric saw coldness, and where he expected to find love and warmth, he found cold hollowness and a depth of pain that made his look childish and pitiful.

The pain in his chest only grew. He wanted to leave the In-Between and never see the guardian again, and yet, that thought alone proved more painful than his current suffering.

Alia turned away, "Give me a few days."

'A few days, huh…' Alaric thought to himself. He'd been reduced to this teary mess in less than a day, and she wanted him to go a few more. The composure he'd dedicated himself to building was crumbling.

Would he forget this conversation in a few days, or would he also turn cold towards the guardian? Why did she look at him with pity?

Alaric didn't know what to do with this. This was supposed to be a place he came to be safe and warm… and yet right now, it was a source of more pain, 'Whoever thought giving guardians this much power over our emotions must have had a screw loose.'

With that, Alaric left his realm of the In-Between. What he didn't notice as he left were the dense clouds that formed above. Alia looked up at the clouds with a sombre expression, a symbol of Alaric's turmoil, but remained quiet all the same.