The Choice (6)
It was a sweltering, sun-drenched afternoon. The young boatman, navigating a tributary of the Laoras River, tugged at his collar and fanned himself. Beads of sweat glistened on his skin, which was the color of well-fired earthenware.
"Aigoo. It feels like I’m finally living now that I’ve left the desert. Even if it’s a river, that place is just too stifling. But still…."
The boatman’s gaze drifted toward the passenger sitting across from him.
"Aren't you hot? You haven't taken off that wind-protection poncho even once."
"I am fine."
Arnat answered the boatman’s chatter bluntly from his seat on the small boat. The boatman had only been trying to ease the tension, but the problem was that Arnat had no room in his heart to indulge him. In the end, the boatman grumbled silently and kept rowing.
It had already been several days since Arnat had dismounted his camel. Recalling the day he had delivered the letter to Huran and descended, Arnat wiped his face with his palm, starting from his forehead.
"What is the matter?"
He had sensed a commotion at the mouth of the Mirvis River. When Arnat approached the scene and asked the soldiers, revealing his identity, they bowed and explained.
"We discovered a suspicious child, but the child jumped into the water, so we are currently searching."
"How long has it been?"
"It has been half an hour."
"Move aside."
Without a moment’s hesitation, Arnat drew upon his Essence and dove into the water. The pale, rising energy allowed him to move even beneath the surface. When he saw footprints leading from the riverbed toward the unseen depths, Arnat’s heart pounded.
'It is not an adult. It is a child. It is Prince Akasa.'
The trail of his target was clear.
Forgetting to surface for air, he chased the footprints frantically, but a few minutes later, the trail simply vanished.
Rather than being disappointed by the broken trail, the pursuer chose to secure a boat in the meantime.
And now, it had been five days since he began traveling down the Laoras River by boat. Arnat had dove beneath the water several times to search for the Prince’s tracks, but aside from the ones he had seen at the bottom of the Mirvis, he could find no trace of Akasa anywhere.
'It is certain that the Prince has learned to manipulate Essence.'
Otherwise, there would be no reason for a young child to leave footprints with a consistent stride as if "walking" on the riverbed. After contemplating various possibilities based on that clue, Arnat narrowed down the directions the Prince could have taken to four.
'One: He went underwater to avoid pursuit on land. If he releases his control of Essence midway and lets himself be carried by the river’s current, he could easily shake off his pursuers.'
It was a plausible theory. Furthermore, if he moved in sync with the river’s flow, he could escape at a speed unthinkable for a child’s body. However, during this season, powerful eels that even adults struggle to fend off swim upstream. Does a young child truly possess the ability to manipulate Essence well enough to fend off eels while moving underwater?
Arnat didn't think so.
'Two: Going underwater was merely a desperate choice. He surfaced in a secluded area.'
The second possibility also relied on his ability to manipulate Essence. But he was not a "Flow-Walker" of the renowned Water Temple. It was obvious that his movement speed on land would be faster than in the water. Could a child barely in his early teens really shake off soldiers on camels and find a secluded spot?
'Three: This is all a ruse, and the Prince stopped running midway and hid in a secret place.'
Connecting this to the first point, Arnat thought this was the most likely scenario. There is a limit to where a child’s body can go.
However, beyond the border, in the wild territories where monarchs do not interfere, there are Exiles. Those who received the grace of banishment rather than the death penalty. To those who hone their malice as much as their will to survive, how would a "treasure" like a young boy appear? It was clear.
'And, though it is a mere possibility, there is an accomplice helping the Prince. If I were an accomplice, I would not guide the Prince to a place where Exiles roam. It is too dangerous.'
When he reached this final thought, Arnat furrowed his brow in annoyance. The irritation stemmed from the fact that he hadn't thought of that possibility sooner.
'He is a Prince resurrected under the late King’s plan. It was only natural to assume there would be someone following the King’s will.'
But the soldiers had only mentioned discovering a "suspicious child." It was hard to believe that an accomplice would choose to wait for the child at the bottom of the river. However, Huran had previously stated that the child had jumped into the river.
Does that mean the Prince’s accomplice has not yet shown their face directly?
The more he thought about it, the more Arnat felt a throbbing headache. Even though he was manipulating Essence, forcing a pursuit for three days without sleep was a significant ordeal.
"Oh, guest. Are you sleeping?"
"I will close my eyes for a moment. If you know of a place near the Water Temple along the way, please dock the boat there. I will pay the full fare for the long journey."
The boatman laughed heartily, his tanned skin gleaming.
"Leave it to me. I happen to know a spot. Just get some rest, and we’ll be there when you wake up."
Arnat didn't even bother to answer; he just closed his eyes.
It was better to sleep than to talk.
Quietly settling his Essence, Arnat let his consciousness slip beneath the heavy curtain of slumber.
[How is it?]
Urnil asked lazily. How many times had he asked this question now? Akasa answered, feeling as if he wanted to crawl into a mousehole if one existed.
"I’m sorry. I don’t really know."
[Come on, I’ll do it one more time. This is the last one for today.]
"Yes."
Akasa focused his attention on his left arm. He felt a pale light flow out and pass thinly through the inside of his body. The sensation started from his left arm, passed through his left shoulder and chest, and headed toward his thigh. It was an itchy feeling, wanting to move but unable to. And when that energy returned to the center of his body, Urnil released his control over the power.
[Catch it!]
At the shout echoing in his mind, Akasa focused all his spirit, trying to grab the strand of power. But the released power puffed out and leaked outside his body, and a faint, mist-like pale light flowed out and dissolved into the forest.
"I’m sorry."
Akasa answered, crestfallen.
It had been several days since he began training under Urnil’s guidance. But the process was always the same. Urnil would show him the sensation of Essence flowing, and the moment he released control, Akasa would try to catch it. At first, Urnil had shown him the sensation of a small amount of Essence constantly flowing through his body. Each time, he felt a strength and vitality unthinkable for a young boy’s body. It was the same power that had allowed him to shake off the adult soldiers who were guarding him and escape.
However, Akasa could exert no control over that power at all.
"Was I just not cut out for this?"
[Hey, why are you getting so down over something like this? Training is a lifelong process. Did you think you were a genius after only a few days?]
"But you said it before. That my body changed after I died and came back to life."
[I did. I don't know about other parts, but your eyes definitely changed. Because usually, you can't see Essence flowing in its normal state unless you are someone who has trained significantly. Didn't you see it just now?]
Akasa said with a gloomy expression.
"It spread out from my body like a burst. I couldn't hold onto it at all."
[Wait a minute. Like a burst? You felt that?]
"Yes? Yes. Well, I suppose? It’s my body, after all."
[Usually, it takes years just to feel Essence sensually through the body. And that’s only after you’ve started the process of accumulating it. There are even priests who can’t do that and fail to become acolytes.]
"Uh, really?"
Akasa was flustered. Urnil’s assessment was that surprising.
[Back in the days when Essence was concentrated in Cellabris, the whole nation knew how to handle it. If you compare it to those days, you could say you have no talent. But being able to physically perceive Essence is a tremendous talent in this day and age.]
Akasa’s voice trembled slightly.
"Then, am I doing well?"
[Yes. I told you. Just trust me.]
Akasa looked down at the bracelet, overcome with emotion. Akasa had never once doubted Urnil. In this wild life, he was a great advisor and his companion. But it was embarrassing to admit that he hadn't believed in himself. So, instead, Akasa gave a small nod.
"Yes. I will work hard."
Still, today’s training was over.
The Essence flowing through the world is so vast that even if practitioners use it intentionally, it takes an immense amount of time. However, to use Essence, one first needs a process of creating a body through long training so that it can accept and realize Essence.
But Urnil said that while Akasa’s body could feel Essence, it was not yet a vessel capable of holding it.
[The ones who study the process of making the vessel of the body are the temple priests. If a child enters the temple, they are called an acolyte, but usually, there is just a difference in level according to age and understanding.]
"Then am I an acolyte right now?"
[Yes. You need to put the fish trap in the other way.]
Akasa, who had hesitated, quickly turned the fish trap around at Urnil’s flexible instruction. Returning to the campfire, Akasa took out his knife and a long branch he had kept inside the roots.
It was a branch slightly shorter than his own height.
"Please help me."
[You sure know how to make good use of these opportunities.]
"Hehe."
A thin stream of energy flowed into Akasa’s body as he giggled. The strength in the hand holding the knife and the hand holding the branch began to easily shape the surface of the wood.
Ever since Akasa accepted the path of a practitioner, Urnil had him craft a weapon.
[Anything is fine. For now, try making something you are familiar with and want to handle. You have a knife, but maybe a longer blade. Or a staff. A spear. A club. If you tell me what you want, I will teach you how to make it.]
Akasa had a few familiar weapons in his mind.
But among them, the most familiar was the staff. Urnil couldn't help but ask.
[Usually, people are more interested in swords. Is there a reason you chose this?]
"There was someone in the Gravedigger family who treated me well. He was a subject to my father, but he was a kind brother to me."
Akasa said, trimming the long branch with his carving knife.
"He wasn't overly authoritative like Mr. Hanlate, and he treated me like a younger brother. Whenever that brother handled a staff during the rituals held by the Sun Temple, he looked very cool."
[If he is Hanlate’s son, he must be Ondalan. Come to think of it, that guy did adore you.]
"Oh, you know that brother?"
Urnil’s voice was tinged with absurdity.
[Hey. I am the guardian deity of the royal family, so why wouldn't I know? I even know when nobles are badmouthing the royals behind their backs. I just don't say anything because I don't want a bloodbath in the palace. Do you think Cellabris maintained its dynasty for thousands of years for no reason? It’s all because I taught the kings how to properly handle the nobles. A god protects the royal authority, so there’s no way there would be any crazy people opposing it, right?]
"I had no idea. To think you were watching all of that…."
[You are still young, and you haven't inherited the throne yet, so you wouldn't know. I understand. Anyway, it is a bit unexpected.]
"What is?"
[Usually, people are interested in blades. You need to survive in your current situation, too. But you chose a staff, not a blade.]
The Gravedigger family does not use blades because of the etiquette that since they guide the dead, they must not burden the dead with the weight of other weapons. But that is because the Gravedigger family is special. To ordinary people in the world, a staff was nothing more than a training weapon.
"Of course, as you said, Urnil, it might be a very mediocre choice for my survival from now on, but…."
Akasa said, holding up the branch he had been trimming with vigor.
"Still, if I am going to train, I want to handle a staff."
[Understood. I will help you.]
"Thank you, Urnil!"
[But survival comes first. The moment you are lazy about anything you need to stay alive, your training will stop immediately.]
"Yes!"
Akasa put more energy into carving the staff. After some time, when Urnil told him to check the fish trap, Akasa approached the stream and smiled brightly with a face full of joy.
It was full of large fish.