Memory Seal- Volume 1

by Insane Mooncake

  ‘That's a wall. And that's still a wall.’ He continued to feel his way along the wall, until he hit something with his arm. He vaguely felt the object slip away, then heard the distinct sound of shattering glass.

  “Uh oh.”

  Wesley was too afraid to move. Once, when he was four, he'd accidentally stepped on some broken glass. It wasn't until he had cried loud enough for his mother to come that the glass pieces were extracted painfully, one by one, from the bottom of his foot.

  Painful!

  Thankfully, he heard footsteps approaching, in time with a woman's voice.

  “Gust, if this kid wasn't goddamn blind I could’ve sworn you invited the goddamn devil into my house. First he shrieks like a demon when all I'm doing is applying some ointment, and now he's gone and broke my best vase!”

  “What are you talking about ma'am, that vase was an atrocity! It's better that it is gone, otherwise the God of Vases would have come and cursed your family for ten thousand years!”

  A stream of profanity followed as the door opened.

  Seeing the blind child frozen in place, the woman’s fierce eyes softened. She walked up to him slowly, skirting around the glass shards.

  “Hey kid, come here.” She reached out and pulled Wesley to the side, away from the broken glass.

  “Stay right where you are, okay sweetie? I'll bring you downstairs and let you eat some food in a bit. You must be hungry…”

  She quickly cleaned up the glass pieces, occasionally glancing towards Wesley, who stood in the corner patiently and quietly. A few minutes later, she led him downstairs, sat him at the dining table, and placed a fresh bowl of soup in front of him. The sound of a bowl hitting the table and the warm scent that filled his nostrils filled him with glee.

  Between the blindness and the bandages on his hands, feeding himself wasn’t easy. After shamefully directing the first spoonful of soup into his nose, he'd given up and had simply put the bowl to his lips and tilted it back, finally gaining access to the delicious, fragrant soup.

  “Ahhh.” Wesley leaned back and patted his stomach. He hadn’t felt so safe and full since…

  Then he remembered what’d happened just yesterday, and suddenly he didn’t feel so safe. However, to his own surprise, tears didn’t fall.

  For now, he was just a kid… but eventually he would find out why those people had come and attacked his family in the night. He would make them pay their dues!

  But how?

  He would have to become stronger, to refine his magical abilities. But what if his family’s attackers were still searching for him? Where would he be safe?

  Then, he remembered one of the last things his mother had said to him, when he had asked where they were going.

  The Reiniad Kingdom!

  Gust and the lady had been discussing Wesley's affairs while he’d been deep in thought.

  Suddenly Wesley spoke up. “Do you know where the Reiniad Kingdom is?

  “Huh?” Gust and the lady looked over. “Why?”

  “No reason.”

  However, his face betrayed his curiosity.

  Gust and Elaine, the lady who had treated and bandaged Wesley, looked at each other with confusion.

  Elaine had always stayed in the village to focus on studying medicine and medicinal magics. Gust, who knew more about the geography of the continent, responded.

  “Well let’s see… there’s not much left to the Magmont Continent out West… we’re pretty much as far West as it gets. But, there are several countries East of here, including the Reiniad Kingdom, which is home to what many people believe to be the continent’s best Intermediate Magic Academy.

  “But that’s at the very Eastern edge of the continent. Let’s see… in between, we have the tiny Kenta Kingdom, the Larwin Kingdom, as well as the Alaki Mountain Range… I’d say the Reiniad Kingdom is about two thousand miles away. Why?”

  “No real reason. By the way, auntie, am I hurt anywhere or am I free to go?”

  Hearing this, Elaine frowned. “No you’re not free to go. Gust said your family would come pay the fees for my services. Get them to come here and pay up. I’m not running a charity here.”

  Hearing this, Wesley froze, then started crying. What family did he have to pay for his treatment???

  Back in the city, everyone knew him as the prized son of the Gia family. As such, he was able to grab whatever he wanted from the any shop without hesitation. The shop would find a Gia family representative afterward to secure their payment.

  Hence, Wesley never had a reason to carry money with him, and didn’t have any on him currently either.

  Elaine was shocked by Wesley’s tears. Asking for payment wasn’t unfair, was it? But the kid’s reaction, perhaps he was…

  An orphan? Homeless? Surely not. The child’s clothes, though tattered, had been made from decent cloth.

  The old auntie sighed, but glared at Gust, who adopted an innocent expression.

  “Fine, fine. I'll let you off the hook this one time, Gust. Tell two stories to the village children tonight and I'll let this pass.”

  Gust simply smiled.

  …

  Later that night, Wesley sat with the village’s children as they listened to Gust’s tales.

  “And so, the young hero ventured across the lands, seeking opponents to test his skills against. But alas, he was too strong, and no opponent could last more than a single exchange of skills.

  “At first, the young hero was elated every time he won in such a manner. With every victory, those around him showered him with praises and gifts. But as time went on and the young hero never failed in any of his ventures, the excitement associated with each victory quickly diminished, and the praises and gifts from those around him no longer gave him a sense of accomplishment, but rather a feeling of emptiness.

  “Seeking stronger foes, he challenged the heavens; even they were no match for his monstrous strength and ability.”

  Gust paused to take a small sip of water and examined his audience, then continued.

  “After the heavens were destroyed, the world entered a period of chaos. Kings abolished the religious institutions that had been restricting their power, and their wrath and greed led them to wage war against their neighbors.

  “Many warriors used this warring era to make names for themselves; yet, our hero refused to participate. He had long lost hope in finding a worthy opponent. Instead, he spent his days wandering from village to village, city to city.

  “One day, as he strolled through a village, he saw an old man sitting at a chess table in front of a house that looked older than he. Although the old man did not have an opponent, he cheerfully moved the pieces around the board.

  “Seeing this, the young hero was intrigued. He walked over to the old man and asked, ‘Hey, old man. Mind if I join you for a match?’”

  Gust paused again, this time for a few long seconds as he slowly chewed on some bread.

  “The old man looked up and examined the young hero, then nodded.

  “Although the young hero had little experience with military chess, he was confident as he had previously commanded thousands of men on the battlefield.

  “Yet, from just the first move, he felt outclassed. During the entire match, there was not a single moment when he was confident in winning.

  “He quickly lost the first match. Unhappy with the outcome, he challenged the old man again. A few minutes later, he lost again. And so, the young hero, frustrated, challenged the old man again.”

  Gust paused and took another sip of water, another bite of bread, and tore into a chicken leg.

  “Hours later, the two, young and old, were still playing chess. By now, a third person, the old man’s granddaughter, had come to watch. Although the young hero had improved, he was still unable to defeat the old man.

  “‘Why can't I beat you?’ asked the young hero.

  “‘This’, the old man replied, ‘I don't know, but I stopped trying about six matches ago.’
”

  Hearing this, Wesley and the other children laughed. What kind of hero was this? He could vanquish the heavens but couldn’t best an old man in chess? Furthermore, it was an old man who'd lost interest already!

  Gust continued. “Frustrated, the young hero left the old man and his granddaughter, and rented a room in the village for the night.

  “Later that night, a battle erupted some distance away from the village. Amidst the chaos, a group of soldiers fled and in their escape, came across the village.

  “They proceeded to ransack the village for money. In mere minutes, the entire village, aside from a certain old man's family, had been robbed.

  “Why wasn't the old man’s family robbed? It was because as soon as the soldiers had approached the old hut, a young hero stood in their way. With his fighting prowess, he had quickly disarmed the soldiers.”

  Gust flicked his wrist to throw the chicken bone in his hand far away, picked up an apple from one of the nearby tables, and then chomped into it.

  “Then the hero killed all of the soldiers and in the following days would keep playing military chess against the old man until he finally won the end thank you for the meal bye.”

  With that, Gus quickly grabbed Wesley and ran away.

  It took a few moments for the kids to register what had just happened, but the parents that had come with their children realized what had happened immediately.

  That Gust! He’d just used some crappy story to stall for time as he feasted on the food!

  Chapter 5

  Gust and Wesley fled to Elaine’s house, hiding from the victims of Gust’s antics. Not that they were chased – the villagers had gotten used to Gust’s antics by now.

  After a full day with Gust, who had gone out of his way to cause trouble and raise hell for Wesley’s enjoyment, he was reminded of carefree afternoons spent playing with his older cousins back home.

  But although Wesley seemed much happier than before, he was constantly reminded of his own loneliness and trauma by the world around him: the sounds of the previous night, the sound of the assassins’ footsteps echoing around the estate, the eerie silence of the forest. Tragic events can be blocked out as if on demand… but the scars never truly leave.

  “Say kid, don’t mean to pry, but what are your plans now? I ain’t old enough to be your dad and I sure as hell won’t baby you for the rest of your life.”

  Wesley raised his head toward Gust and shrugged. “I don’t know. I should have family in the Reiniad Kingdom, but you said that the Reiniad Kingdom is over two thousand miles away… there’s no way for me to get there.

  “Hmm…” Gust scratched his chin. This was a move that he’d seen many of the older people in the villages he’d visited in the past do to look smarter and more thoughtful than they actually were. But, it felt appropriate to do now.

  Unfortunately for him, he’d forgotten for the moment that Wesley was blind, so his actions were wasted.

  “Say, the clothes you were wearing when we met were made of some fancy stuff. I’ve seen nobles in the cities around here, and they wear the like. If I got you to your family in Reiniad, how much would they pay me?”

  “Uh…I’m not sure, maybe about a million gold coins?”

  Gust jumped to his feet. “A million gold coins??? Kid, you better not be playing with me! I want five at least!"

  “Okay, okay, five.”

  Although Wesley spoke with such certainty in his voice, he was merely a child, and thus had no real understanding of wealth.

  Even so, Wesley had never thought about what would happen if he actually made it to the Reiniad Kingdom. If that happened, he would worry about the money then.

  What he needed, right now, was help.

  “Alright, let’s leave in the morning. It’s about time I moved on from this village anyway.” Gust did his best to stay calm.

  Five million gold coins! Factoring in the terrain between them and the Reiniad Kingdom. It would take them less than a year, to reach their destination on foot. After that… he could live out his days in luxury!

  Gust lost himself in his fantasies – as a bard, his imagination tended to run a little rampant.

  …

  The following morning, Wesley woke up in the same bed that he slept in before – Gust had convinced Elaine to let them stay for the night, promising to leave the morning after.

  “Gust, where are you? I’m hungry!”

  Instead of Gust’s angry voice, Wesley was greeted by Elaine’s instead.

  “Gust I swear to god if you don’t get that damn boy out of here today I will cut your damn jewels off!”

  Wesley heard someone running up the stairs, then felt himself being grabbed and pulled.

  “Let’s go, Wesley! We’re off to the Reiniad Kingdom!”

  A few minutes later, Gust and Wesley began their journey along the road, due East. Proud of his efficiency, Gust announced his accomplishments in the hours prior.

  “So, this morning I went out and bought some food and water for us—although we’ll probably be starving and dying of thirst in a few days anyway—, a sword for protection—although I don’t really know how to use it so we’ll probably be dead if anyone tries to rob us—, and…”

  Wesley groaned to himself. It was going to be a long trip.

  “Say, kid, can you do anything useful?”

  “I can cast some elementary spells, but I specialize in ice spells.”

  Wesley heard Gust abruptly stop.

  “You can use magic??? How do you use magic? Is it like they say in the stories, where you can create magic circles out of thin air to decimate thousands of opponents with ease? Can you fly? Show me!”

  “Uh, well…” As the two walked, Wesley relayed everything he knew about magic to the man, which wasn’t much, as he’d had less than a year’s worth of experience regarding the subject. However, this was more than enough to hold Gust’s attention for several miles of their journey.

  The only issue was, as he tried to walk while turned around to imitate looking at the person while speaking to them, he kept walking diagonal to the road, and so kept walking into trees and the like along the side of the road.

  Gust and Wesley ended up walked down the road holding hands.

  From time to time, they would pass others on the road. Some travelled alone, while most travelled in small groups. There was one outlier, however. As the sun was about to disappear over the horizon, a caravan of wagons rattled up from behind the two boys.

  The leader of the caravan stepped out and greeted the two, who stopped in their tracks and turned around cautiously. “Hey boys, would you like to pay for spot in our caravan? We’re headed to the Kenta Kingdom.”

  Gust scratched his head and said, “We’d love to, but we don’t really have any money. How about this, could I offer my services? I’m a bard, you see.”

  “A bard, eh? Alright, that’d work for me; can’t say it’s been an entertaining trip as of yet. Can you fight as well?”

  Gust straightened up. “Best fighter in my village, sir! See this sword here? I’ve had it since I was five, sir!”

  He might’ve gotten away with it too, if Wesley didn’t start snickering at these words. After all, he knew that Gust had only purchased the sword that morning.

  “Right… just come along, I think the wagon in the back has some space. Tell them that Mark sent you. Let’s just call it me pitying you two boys. After all, It’s not safe out here at night. You’ll be safer with us. Just don’t cause any unnecessary trouble.”

  Gust smiled broadly. “Thank you very much, sir!”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  As soon as the caravan leader left, Gust bent down to whisper into Wesley’s ear. “See that? We got a free ride. And, what the heck was with you mocking my words?? I WAS the best fighter in the village. Just not physically.”

  “Right, your stories really could bore people to death.”

  “Aren’t nobles supposed to have good manners?”

&nb
sp; “Aren’t bards supposed to be good with words?”

  Gust chuckled and gave Wesley a playful pat on the back. “…I swear…”

  As the caravan passed, Gust and Wesley waited along the road until the last wagon rolled up. Like Mark had said, there was plenty of room in the wagon. Despite the large size of the wagon that could easily seat 20 people, about half of it was filled with boxes, while only three people occupied part of the remaining space.

  Gust and Wesley climbed into the wagon, waving toward those already inside as they entered. Everyone quickly introduced themselves. The three already inside the wagon introduced themselves first as Kyle, Jen, and Alex. Kyle and Jen were a newly married couple, while Alex was Kyle’s younger brother. Kyle and Jen were both 21 years of age, while Alex was 14.

  Kyle and Jen were touring the continent for their honeymoon, while Alex was on his way to a school for knights in the Larwin Kingdom. After their introductions, Gust proudly and shamelessly introduced himself as the student of a master bard travelling to broaden his horizons, refine his stories, and practice singing his songs.

  Wesley was the last one left to introduce himself.

  “Umm… my name is Wesley. Nice to meet you all!”

  A few chimes of “Nice to meet you” floated around the wagon followed by an awkward pause.

  Gust glanced at the trio, then looked toward Wesley. This…

  Wesley lowered his head, then lifted it and smiled. “So... have you seen anything interesting on your travels yet? Gust and I just started, so we haven’t!”

  “Well, actually, just a few days after we left…”

  Wesley let out a quiet sigh of relief.

  But later that night, when everyone was getting ready to go to sleep, Wesley tugged on Gust’s shirt.

  “Gust, can you do me a favor?”

  “Yeah, sure little man, what do you need?”

  “The next place we go to, could you buy something to cover my head for me?”

  “Ah…yeah.” Gust frowned, then patted Wesley’s head. “Don’t worry about it, little guy. I’m sure there’ll be some way to cure your blindness.”

  “Really!?”

  “Oi, shh shh. Keep your voice down; we’re about to sleep here. But yeah, I mean, is there really any limit to what magic can do? I’m sure there’s someone out there who’s researched curing blindness before. Don’t worry about it. Now screw off, I’m tired. Go sleep.”