Reborn: From Nothing

The ground beneath me was uneven and slippery. In my past life, I would have died after an hour of climbing this mountain. My field of view is much slimmer than it used to be. I have gotten used to it by now.

It has been a year since my last battle. I turned 14 years old recently. Aside from many people dying from hypothermia, winter passed uneventfully. Battles are rarely fought in the cold, as no one is willing to attack in those conditions.

Fewer people died in cold conditions than from heat stroke, meaning there was a lot less death in the camps as a whole. Reinforcements arrived early in the spring, our numbers doubled and our supplies are much better.

I am an important figure in the army, so I was never left without a meal like some of the common soldiers. I still see the other soldiers' moods improve during meal time unlike before, so I notice the effects.

I have been getting along better with others recently, primarily Ozias. It’s not because I connect with him or anything, it’s just he and the princess are the only people I talk to. I never realized how silent the world would be without Lucanus around.

Despite having fewer altercations, I don’t feel any better. The world calmed when I realized that I shouldn’t be fighting those who I have no reason to kill. I am more focused on training than ever. I developed a new attack and have made substantial progress on a certain spell.

We reached a point on the mountain where snow falls. The ground looks so peaceful from this high up. Within my field of view, there are probably people killing each other with swords. One would never expect it from here.

“Don’t be admiring the view, we are on this mountain for a reason. Keep your eye peeled.” Ozias said to me.

“I find it hard to believe you aren’t tempted to look too.”

“I have been to mountains before.”

“So, what’s this bird supposed to look like?”

“A brown-feathered owl with individual purple feathers scattered around its body. It should also have a white beak.”

“Can you really transplant their eyes onto humans?”

“As long as you are capable of the healing magic necessary.”

Ozias knew of an owl that could give me my eye back but didn’t know of any locations where they could be found in the area. He came across intel recently of a location where they reside.

This species is endangered, so we are only going to kill one. Apparently few people hunt them for their eyes, rather they seek the purple feathers.

“You're progressing well in terms of strength. I don’t think you’ve noticed it, but every battle strengthens you. Holding your own against three guardsmen and an elite guard of an Amidonian senator speaks for itself.”

“I guess that has to do with your training too. Why do you train me like this? I doubt it’s because you need strong forces for your army.”

“You will understand one day. Let’s just say, I have become rather bored recently.”

“You’re cryptic as always.”

At this point, I didn’t even think he had some sort of plan for me, but I guess that was wrong. He oddly seems both completely calculated and someone who sees no point in scheming. However, that is just one of his many contradictory traits.

We continue to climb the mountain without much more talking. The air was getting lighter as we moved up higher, both Ozias and I could create oxygen with magic which kept us from getting lightheaded. I don’t know how magic to create breathable air was formed without knowledge of elements, but I suppose people could still tell the difference between good and bad air.

The most intimidating part of the trail was a ledge just below a large glacier. The edge was steep, and falling would be certain death for most people, but the glacier was in the perfect spot to bring it.

Ice crackled wherever I placed my heels, snow fell so quickly it only took a few minutes to build up on my shoulder. Water droplets fell from the glaciers and landed on my nose.

Once we made it through the narrow pass, a large tower came into sight. It was built of stone, cut precisely so that not even the slightest bit of air could enter.

A scantily clad elven woman carried a bucket of ice through the snow in her bare feet. Yet, the most noticeable article on her was the silver collar around her neck. She was chained, hooked up to the wall just outside the door.

Her eyes looked hollow, despite this they were capable of displaying fear. When she saw us, the shock caused her to yelp slightly. She dropped the bucket of ice and ran towards us. About 15 feet in front of us the chain tugged her and she fell onto her back.

“Please, get away from here. I beg you, just leave. We’ll both get-”

Noticing the commotion, a man exited the building. Upon seeing him, the woman flinched. He wore an expensive-looking robe and had a sharp look to him. His hair was black and gray, probably late thirties.

With an arrogant gait, he approached. He pulled the elf up by her chain and stared us down. His chest was puffed and his chin was high. He was covered in gold jewelry.

“State your name and purpose here traveler.”

“Im Ozias, this is my student Cassius. We are here to hunt Sentius’ Owl for its eye.”

“I see. Please, come into my home so we may discuss things.”

“Very well.”

We followed him to the tower. The elven woman got unhooked at the door and carried the ice in. We entered the building and took our shoes off at the doorway. The floor was heated. The woman seemed extremely relieved to be out of the cold, but that didn’t last long. She was soon ordered around.

“Please, come in and take a seat.”

The first floor had a living room. We sat on the sofa across from the man's chair. It didn’t go past my notice that his chair was elevated above all others in the room. Hot drinks were served a few minutes after sitting down.

“Isn’t she nice? Obedient, easy on the eyes, graceful, skilled. I’ve had her for 4 years now, hasn’t aged a day. That will be the case for the rest of my life.” He bragged to Ozias.

“That is if you hold onto her for the rest of your life.”

“Tell me, wherever shall she run to?”

“Her running should be the last of your worries.”

“Don’t tell me you believe those tell tales?”

“The Order of the Bear is real. Cut your losses, let her go, and flee. That is my warning.”

“Hmph, this conversation is boring me. Leave my home.”

“Let’s go, Cassius.”

I followed behind Ozias as he left. As I walked out, she appeared in front of me once more. I decided to speak up for a moment.

“What is your name?” I asked her.

“Ellowen of the Tribe Leafwhisper.”

“I’m Cassius.”

“Nice to meet you.” she bowed.

Her features were beautiful, her hair was blond and her eyes were green. Honestly, some part of me considered saving her, but I also had no desire to get involved in this situation.

“I’m sure you will be freed soon, endure until then.” I left with those words.

The drudge up the mountain continued after this. The warmth of that spire was missed, but the atmosphere was not. Besides, I can handle the cold at this point.

“Hey Ozias, what is the Order of the Bear?”

“Tell me, how valuable do you think an Elven slave would be?”

“Extremely, probably worth millions.”

“Yet, you don’t see them anywhere do you?”

“Now that you mention it…”

“Thousands of years ago there was a great war. Humanity's sole purpose in this war was to capture and enslave as many elves as they could. There were many strong elven tribes and warriors, but they were not unified. Their villages and tribes were small, isolated, and divided.

Humanity won the war, but the elves remembered everything. A young boy watched his father be killed and his mother be taken away. For a hundred years that boy trained and managed to obtain unfathomable strength.

With this power, he formed a unit called the Order of the Bear. He and his comrades traveled throughout the elven tribes and gathered the strongest warriors. Once they reached a hundred men they began their quest.

They traveled throughout the world freeing enslaved elves. The human nations took notice of this and started another war. That unit of one hundred men stood alone against the full strength of six nations.

Humanity attained victory again, but that victory was certainly pyrrhic. Some nations lost 30% of their fighting-age male population. Since then the Order of the Bear has only grown larger and stronger. 600 years ago, the Order of the Bear unified all the elven tribes in the eastern forest forming the United Elven Kingdom.

Modern nations fear this order so greatly that war with them is completely thrown out of the picture. The order today spends most of its time finding and freeing enslaved elves.”

By the time we were done talking, we reached high enough to find a nest. Sitting within it was an owl, exactly as Ozias had described. Once it saw us, it launched itself and flew away as fast as a bullet.

Ozias was faster. With a few leaps, he managed to catch the owl with one of his hands. While watching this transpire I realized, my eye could follow his movements.

He returned to me while the owl squirmed in his hands. He finished off the owl by crushing its body in his palm.

“Sit down and clench your teeth,” he instructed me.

He tried to make it as quick as possible. Still, it was excruciating. He ripped my eye out of my head, quickly pushed the owl eye in, and then cast support magic. I held back any screams, but I was close to letting it out. For some reason, this hurt more than any injury on the battlefield.

“Try opening your eye.”

I really could see out of it… but the colors were, off. Not only that, but for some reason I perceived movements cleared from the owl eye. Having both eyes open at once was giving me a headache, so I closed my regular one.

It seems like the owl eye has better depth perception, and color differentiating, and I process the information faster, however, keeping it open is mentally exhausting. I will probably keep it closed from now on, but it seems like this will give me an edge in battle.

“How are you adjusting to it?”

“Fine, what matters is it works.”

With this, I can keep both eyes open in combat and lessen my amount of blind spots. If I can get used to the mental confusion of using both at once, it could probably even give me an edge in battle.

“Let’s return.”

I follow him as we return to the mountain path. We both have good memory and awareness, there was no danger of getting lost after we left the path. The return down the mountain was uneventful.

…

2 days down the path to camp there was a village, small in size with quite a bit of charm. The village chief had been secretly supporting our army since before the war even began. He was a sly rat, but because of his decisions, the village had been left untouched.

We were walking past a tavern when around the corner a girl about my age appeared. She held a sword and clearly presented killing intent. Even if she showed intent, she was obviously not a threat. The sword was so heavy she could barely lift it. Ozias was disinterested in this situation.

“You… you killed my father, you bastard. I’m going to fucking kill you!”

So I killed someone close to her huh? I… I guess I have killed a lot of people since entering this war. And maybe, some of them didn’t deserve to die.

She charged at me slowly. For her age, she is stronger than one would expect, but she’s far weaker than a true warrior. She must have only recently started her training.

A short sidestep was enough to dodge her straight-down attack. I kicked her stomach and sent her away. I did it lightly, I’ve been too bloodthirsty in the past, I have to stay calm and remind myself who really needs to be killed.

I approached her with the appropriate confidence for a master warrior talking to a weakling. I held down her arms and shared the only thing I could to help her now.

“Don’t seek revenge.”

Ozias and I left the scene with the girl lying on the ground.