Odyssey of the Guardian Emperor

Troy had been in the demiplane for more than a week, and already his brain was getting saturated with information. There was no end to how much information he could access, and Master Corv'ak was always ready to answer any questions he had.

He learnt so much about pills and elixirs in that one week than he could learn in a month back in Melbourne. Yes, Old Thai was a great teacher, but he was also impatient and irritable, finding his own rituals to be a more valuable way to spend his time.

Master Corv'ak wasn't the same. If anything, the old demihuman didn't seem that interested in refining pills and elixirs himself anymore. He spent his time teaching young alchemists and checking their progress, correcting them where they went wrong and making sure they weren't wasting resources. Alchemy was just as dangerous as it was powerful, so the man was always around to minimise the number of injuries.

All that said, Troy was making incredible progress with Alaric's stone pill. He'd refined sixty vials of Bases and obtained twenty vials of High Bases as a result. The potency of High Bases was exponentially higher than the Low Bases, making them a lot more valuable. On top of that, the bases were different in function. There were Protein Bases, Calcium Bases and several others, built to nourish the body during Tempering Rituals. The process was slow.

Aside from that, he'd managed to craft one of the two pills needed to constitute the Stone Pill Alaric required to break through to the Stone Rank. That pill had taken so much out of him that he was taking it easy today. All he could do was prepare the ingredients for his next ritual, take revitalising Aether Elixirs, and read up on the recipes that fascinated him in his tent.

"Human alchemist," a voice filtered into his tent.

Troy's blood went cold as he snapped up to see a blue-haired demihuman standing at the entrance to his tent. He stepped back and felt something poking through the concrete slabs. A quick look down and he discovered he'd stepped on a vine…

'Alaric can see me… can't he?' he thought to himself. Then again, Alaric was training on his own as well. Even if there was some miraculous way he could come here, he would have to abandon his training, cross a large distance, only to stand up to a Steel Rank far stronger than him. He couldn't even use Aether Manipulation in his state. 'No, I'll have to handle this myself.'

Troy hid his hands behind his back, trying his best to stave off the shivers that threatened to shake his entire body with fear. He couldn't take a punch like Alaric could, so he was in a precarious situation, but he wouldn't allow himself this weakness.

"Prince Rail'ak," he bowed, "May I help with something?"

Rail'ak was taken by the human's polite tone. It was obvious he was scared, and yet he met his gaze with one of his own. Timid and shaky, but born from courage. The prince's eyes filled with mocking laughter, "Help me? What can you do?"

Troy felt his hands sweating. "Well, then, why are you here?"

"Just checking on the man using up all our resources," Rail'ak shrugged, "What are you working on?"

"A… Stone Pill," Troy answered.

"Oh, that old thing," the prince answered, his tone filled with exaggerated curiosity, "I remember the first time I tried to refine one myself. Blew up three cauldrons before I got it right."

Troy's eyebrows furrowed. It just so happened that he'd asked Corv'ak this question, and the old man had told him that the prince had failed to craft the Stone Pill only once before a massive success on his second try. He was an unparalleled prodigy attempting something above his station, and the results were equally impressive.

"I'll be careful," Troy responded.

"That's what I wanted to hear," the prince responded, then left without another word.

Troy could hear his heart beating inside his chest. 'Was that it?' he thought to himself.

It took a bit longer to recollect himself and continue his work. It was time for another refining session. He turned around to the table behind him and lifted his cauldron off the table. Surrounding the cauldron, he saw vines strewn about, cut several times by what looked like claws—something that hadn't been there before.

Despite him being an easy scare, Troy had a quick mind, and he easily spotted the footsteps on the ground.

'Someone was here,' he thought to himself. The prince had been a distraction.

He checked around to make sure everything was in order. There were no signs of mercury on his ingredients, and everything seemed to be in order. Even his cauldron, which seemed to have been touched, was still in mint condition. There were no scratches on it or alterations that would disrupt the flow of aether, so he proceeded with the refining.

Outside the tent, the cauldron floated into the air, held up by torrents of aether and flame. Troy was getting used to this, and his displays were becoming more and more flamboyant as he grew more confident with his skills.

Flames were in, then ingredients flew in through the door, and the boy started controlling the process with smooth gestures. The aether obeyed his every whim, bending to his will and doing exactly as he instructed.

Everything was going fine, before it wasn't.

The cauldron shuddered and coughed up a plume of black smoke. Troy doubled his efforts to keep the ingredients from burning too fast, but that only made it worse and more black smoke puffed out.

With a frown, he made a few motions, and the cauldron turned to reveal its back. A red-hot blotch was embedded into the side of the seashell-shaped cauldron, burning hotter with each passing second. At the centre of the blotch, Troy recognised the shape of a finished pill.

His bullies had hidden a pill in his cauldron, and as soon as he saw it, a crack formed on the pill's pristine surface, releasing aether so powerful it shattered the cauldron and blew outward in an earth-shaking explosion. Troy's world went white with light and heat.

BOOM!

……………………

…………………….

For three days after Alaric's seance, life had continued normally in the demiplane. On this particular day, he found himself sparring against LionHeart in the late hours of the afternoon, watching for the man's weaknesses and taking advantage of them so he could learn how to close them up.

LionHeart had improved so rapidly over the past six months that Alaric didn't even understand how it was possible. He trained four years to get where he was and yet, within six months, LionHeart was able to keep him on his feet, challenging what he thought was still beyond reach for the big guy.

That wasn't all on his mind, though. His clone's reports had been coming in, and there was increasingly more information to comb through with each morning. The demiplane had a history, and it was thicker than he was prepared to digest, especially in the span of the last two decades.

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On top of that, it seemed the prince was interested in making Alaric and the humans he'd come with leave the demiplane, one way or another.

"You seem distracted, Alaric," LionHeart's blade flashed. Alaric sidestepped, avoiding the blade completely.

Not wasting a second, he went for the man's abdomen with his fist. The Greatsword was a powerful weapon, but from this close, it became difficult to use it which was why the Dance of the Sentinel incorporated hand-to-hand combat, channeling the indomitable nature of the style to implement punches and kicks that weighed like boulders.

LionHeart let go of his sword and caught it with his left hand while the right intercepted Alaric's attack, shielding his body while his feet nimbly danced him out of the way.

Alaric had been moving as fast as his body could allow without Aether Manipulation, and he was stunned to see LionHeart nearly escape the attack.

He grazed the man's right hand, but LionHeart wasn't out of the woods yet as Alaric followed through with a whistling roundhouse kick.

He missed.

LionHeart was already several steps away, readying his blade for the attack that came a fraction of a second later. Their blades clashed, and the courtyard rang out loud.

"Yeah," Alaric admitted despite the attack that pushed his friend back, "I've been hearing things."

LionHeart met the boy's energy with his own, struggling to keep his exhaustion from showing, "Like what?"

Alaric kept his attacks coming, putting his strength into testing just how indomitable the man could be. "Rail'ak's influence had already grown by the time we got here, but lately he's turned his attention on us. I wonder what he's planning."

"Do you wonder? Or do you know?" LionHeart asked. It was obvious the man was asking based on his understanding of the power Alaric used to spy in situations like this. Their blades clashed again, this time sending ripples through Alaric's bones. He smirked, happy that LionHeart was not thinking of taking his onslaught without retaliation.

"I suspect," Alaric corrected, "I sent my clone to do some digging, and I've been doing some listening with my vines as well, and yet I still don't have as much information as I'd like," Alaric responded, "Morn'ak has warned me of Rail'ak's pettiness and tendency to use underhanded tactics to mess with those he does not like, but it's not enough to tell me what he will do."

LionHeart raised his hand just when Alaric was readying his blade for another attack. He stopped, and the man dropped to his knees, dripping with sweat, "Let's take… a break."

Alaric nodded and took LionHeart's sword from him, helping him up in the process, "I warned Troy, Scarlett and Lucy, but…"

"It won't be enough to put that entitled brat down," LionHeart finished, scrambling to his feet. He grunted, "I've met people like him, Elder Casper being one of them. He will come at you with everything he can without a direct confrontation. He's probably afraid of angering his father. Speaking of the High Sentinel, what does he think of the vines?"

"He's fine with them," Alaric answered, hefting the two great swords over his shoulders. LionHeart gave him an odd look, and he shrugged his shoulders, "I know. I was just as surprised as you are."

Water had been set aside for the humans who trained in the courtyard, a resource they were all utilising well. In the distance, a girl with copper hair fought against a black knight. Her blade struck faster than ever, and yet, Alaric could see the frustration on her face. She attacked viciously and without rhythm, striking whenever she could, without a single care for her life. The black knight training her had grown tired of showing her this.

It wasn't long before Alia grabbed her by the wrist and raised her up, taking a close look at her face. Sweat plastered Scarlett's hair to her face, animating her outrage even more. The knight sighed and brought the girl over to the boys, "Alaric, can you say something to this girl? I'm running out of ideas."

"What's the matter?"

"Rail'ak came by earlier and called her an amateur, among other things," the knight rolled her eyes.

Alaric could only assume the 'other things' Rail'ak said had been bad enough to get on the red-haired girl's nerves. Scarlett yelled at the guardian, "It wasn't just today. That made it eight times."

"And you won't be challenging him like you did the first time he said that," Alia raised her voice in return. Alaric's breath hitched, and his heart thundered in his chest as his emotions flushed into the bond he shared with his guardian.

He took a deep breath and gestured for the guardian to put the girl down. Scarlett massaged her wrist and muttered under her breath, but wouldn't bring herself to look Alaric in the eye, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"And have you solve my problems for me?" the girl scoffed, "No way I'm stooping that low."

"So you'd rather challenge him? He's Steel Rank. I'd stay away from him even after making it to the Stone Rank." Alaric reasoned.

"That's a lie!" Scarlett hissed, "You never think before attacking powerful foes."

"Of course, I do. I took a blow to the stomach during our tour, remember?" Alaric cracked a smile.

"Yes," she sighed, "I remember."

There was a bit of silence before Alaric spoke again with a lower pitch, "If Rail'ak captured you, Lucy, LionHeart or Troy… or Kair'ak and Grun'am, I wouldn't hesitate to storm whatever nest he calls a lair and punch his lights out, but not because I think I would win. Your lives are more important to me that way."

Scarlett stared into Alaric's eyes, and her breathing steadied, "Sentiments like that make you weak. You strike before trouble comes knocking on your door. That's how powerful kings protect their own."

Alaric chuckled, "That's funny. Isn't that what Rail'ak is doing right now?"

Scarlett furrowed her eyebrows and pulled away, "No… He's picking on us. He's trampling over the weak."

"That's what you see, but from where he's standing, we are invaders in a land he's passionate about protecting," Alaric responded.

"That's rubbish!" Scarlett yelled out loud, "The High Sentinel has protected this place for much longer."

"That's true," Alaric answered, "And it is because of that peace that Rail'ak can think of the future of the demiplane with such hope and enthusiasm. He looks out there and sees a world full of possibilities, tainted by humans too weak to eradicate the demon scourge.

If the Heaven-Crested Eagles could step out of this demiplane and end the demon race, the world would be open to them. They could travel the world and do whatever they pleased. As leader of the Stormrunners, that is a dream he's selling the younger generation, and I can see why they'd follow him. He's full of hope."

"You're taking his side?" Scarlett gasped.

Alaric sat on the ground and prompted the girl to do the same, "Close your eyes, Scarlett."

The girl looked at him, gritting her teeth. She turned to LionHeart and Alia, who gave her encouraging looks. The other two weren't necessarily opposing Alaric either, and that gave her the slightest hint towards something she was refusing to see for herself.

With a loud sigh, she closed her eyes. "What now?"

"Take a deep breath, hold it for a second, and let it out. Do this at least ten times," Alaric instructed, and she did, along with him. During the first breaths, she struggled to understand why they were doing this, but by the tenth breath, she'd calmed down just a bit, so Alaric continued speaking, "When you hit someone, you should expect to be hit back. That's just common sense, and hearing it probably makes your heart race and your blood boil. You can see no other way. It sounds even foolish to think otherwise, but if you think carefully, would you ever strike down a mountain?"

"No," the girl furrowed her eyebrows, "That's foolish."

"Yes, it is," Alaric responded, "Just like Rail'ak would never strike down his father. The man's a Saint. But let me ask you something. Would the High Sentinel strike Rail'ak if the boy overcame his nerves and struck him?"

Scarlett thought on it… "I don't know."

"Look past that simple rule we mentioned earlier, and the world gets a lot more complicated than you would think. A mountain would strike back unless you broke an important part of it and caused an angry landslide. I don't claim to know the ways of this world, but I do know that it's not black and white. Rail'ak hit me first, but where you saw a monster, I saw something broken," Alaric explained.

A deep voice suddenly interrupted them, "I didn't realise you were reading that deep into my son's character."

They all turned to see the High Sentinel approach them. There were deep lines of worry in his forehead, and his flowing gown looked less lustrous than usual.

"I think you would have exiled him a long time ago if he were a bad thing for the demiplane," Alaric responded.

"You're right," the High Sentinel responded, "But I am running out of options. His misguided notions continue to grow despite my counsel, and it doesn't matter what punishment I give him; it only fuels the flames of his supporters."

"Do you agree with your son's ideals?" Alaric asked.

"Some of them, but we differ on implementations. For centuries, I've told my people that you will return and our race will be liberated then. A few decades ago, however, Rail'ak grew tired of waiting… and now that you're here, he doesn't want to admit that I was right. He's growing… desperate," Ungv'ak explained.

"How does going after Alaric's friends help him?"

"I forbade him from going after Alaric or any of you, for that matter, but there are more ways for him to retaliate. If any one of you were to snap and attack one of the demihumans, it would be taken as an attack against the demiplane," Ungv'ak explained.

Scarlett turned pale, "That's… diabolical."

"But smart," Alia responded, "So, learn to control your emotions, little one. The last thing we want is for the whole demiplane to turn against us. Right now, we have the upper hand… and we keep it that way by doing nothing."

Just then, an explosion resounded through the air. Everyone turned to see a plume of smoke rising in the air. Alaric was staring at it for a moment before his eyes turned green and his voice leaked out of his mouth, laced with worry, "Troy!"