Chapter 29: Varda (5)
Chapter 29: Varda (5)
A short while later, in the living room.
Eugene looked exhausted; Homi watched him anxiously; Varda looked sad; Grace remained calm.
In the end, the Eucharist had failed.
"I am sorry."
Grace's body could not accept any of the energy and let it all spill away. It was like pouring water into a cracked pot.
Varda shook her head.
"You did your utmost. Rather, it is I who should be thankful that you came all this way."
"It is as the young lady says. I have existed beyond my allotted time. All things fading when their time comes is simply the natural order."
Grace looked at Varda.
"I only stubbornly clung to my thread of life because I could not leave you alone."
The little dryads outside were Grace's avatars. They were workers, mere dolls without souls or wills. If Grace disappeared, Varda truly would be left alone.
Clatter.
Another branch fell from Grace's shoulder. As the blackened, dead fragment rolled away, Varda's eyes grew wet.
"For me, this house, this forest, and Grace's embrace would be enough."
"They say there's no place better than a mother's shelter. But a mother shrinks as she ages. She can't shelter her fully grown daughter forever."
"...But Grace, you're still so big."
"You know it's a figure of speech, young lady. The time has come to leave the nest. A grown woman shouldn't let guests see her acting like this."
The dignified mage was gone, and what remained was an elf speaking like a child, and a dryad gently scolding her like a mother.
"This knight bears a powerful Mystery. He became the Champion of Bonyard and made a name for himself. That those two things brought him here must surely be fate's guidance."
Grace rose from her seat.
"I have already accepted the end of my allotted time. But I do not wish to see the young lady left behind in this mansion alone."
Taking Varda's hand, she approached Eugene.
"Sir Knight. When you leave this forest, would you please take the young lady with you?"
Eugene blinked.
"That caught me off guard. I never imagined such a proposal."
"It wouldn't be a bad arrangement for you either, Sir Knight. The young lady is an excellent mage, second to none. She'll surely be a great help in your future work as a knight."
"This isn't something we should decide among ourselves, is it? Varda's own wishes matter most."
Varda, who had been listening quietly, let out a sigh.
"Grace tried to persuade me every single day as she raised me. She always said that if a worthy person ever visited the forest, I should leave her in her old age and go out into the world with that person."
"When the young lady was little, she would cry and throw a tantrum every time I brought it up. She would cling to me and shout, 'No! Never! I want to stay with you forever!'"
Grace looked deeply pleased, as if the mere memory was adorable.
"So I made her a proposal: if she wanted to save an old tree like me, why not learn forest magic?"
"So that was what motivated Varda-nim to learn magic."
What motivation could be stronger than the desire to save one's family?
"It feels like only yesterday that she was gathering herbs and studying magic with those tiny little hands, saying she would save me. She was so adorable."
"To think that turned out to be a trap."
Varda covered her face with her hands.
"A trap?"
"The more forest magic she learned, the less stubborn she became."
"?"
Seeing Eugene's curious look, Varda spoke.
"Forest magic arises from the cycle of nature. A seed germinates and sprouts, grows tall, then withers and becomes nourishment for the next life. That is only natural."
Varda carefully placed her hand on Grace's dying body.
"The deeper my studies became, the more clearly I understood why I had to let Grace go, no matter how much I loved her."
Perhaps inviting Eugene here had been a symbolic rite meant to help her let go of her lingering attachment.
"Sir Knight. Please, with those strong hands, lead the young lady out into the wide world. With that formidable strength, protect her from danger. The young lady, too, has given her consent."
Eugene glanced at Varda for confirmation, and she nodded faintly.
At first glance, it might sound as though he were being asked to become her guardian, but the arrangement clearly benefited Eugene.
How valuable was a mage on campaign? Varda was a mage of such ability that not only Bonyard but many cities and nobles welcomed her warmly.
Eugene, too, was both a knight and a bearer of Mystery; there would be much for him to learn, and much to discuss.
The dangers he had faced so far could be overcome with strength and valor, but he did not know whether that would remain true in the future.
That made the decision easy.
"I will gladly accept that honor. Until Varda-nim herself wishes to depart, I swear upon my sword to protect her."
Eugene held Last Autumn, the sword he had been given, upright and swore his knight's oath.
At the oath of the world's mightiest knight, Grace felt the fear that had been greater than death itself finally dissolve away.
The next morning, Varda opened the book Eugene's mother had left behind, a diary written in the elven tongue that he had been unable to read.
"Shall I begin?"
"Please."
After taking a moment to steady her voice, Varda's red lips parted.
"I have begun writing my first diary. I started on a whim, thinking it a waste to throw away a blank book I happened to acquire."
The diary had been written on impulse, so neither its dates nor its subjects were consistent. Yet two things were clear.
"A child needs a hometown. A home to settle in, a playground where memories can be made, and friends to spend time with. It is time to put my life as a wandering witch behind me."
The diary had begun after Eugene came into her life, and it showed that she loved her son enough to give up even her research.
"I never imagined I would become a mother. But how many people know in advance that they will become mothers before the child comes? What matters is the look on your face when you hold the child in your arms. To think I would ever have someone more precious to me than all the Mysteries of the world."
There was not much of it. Because of the limitations of paper quality in this era, a single book could hold relatively little writing.
Small everyday memories were recorded at intervals ranging from a few weeks to as long as a year.
They gathered herbs together, ate meals they had cooked together, and on pleasant days napped side by side beneath the oak beside their home.
Because they had been each other's entire world, these were all stories Eugene already knew.
But there was one thing.
The diary's final entry contained something even Eugene had never known.
"My old comrades would be astonished if they saw me now. To see me living quietly in the countryside as a mother, when I was once more obsessed with the Mysteries of the world than anyone. But even now, I have not ceased my pursuit of Mystery."
Varda paused for an instant, her eyes flickering as though even she, a mage, had been startled by the passage.
"My son coming to dwell in my womb was the greatest Mystery I had ever witnessed. I am simply grateful that he was mature enough not to ask about his father. Even a witch's knowledge cannot explain something that never existed."
"..."
Eugene thought he had been surprised quite a few times since coming here.
A father who had never existed. It could be interpreted in several ways, but in this context, there could be only one meaning.
'Virgin conception...?'
While Eugene was still trying to process it, Varda closed the diary and picked up another book, one describing the witch's knowledge.
She had stumbled upon a secret far too immense for someone who had only known him a day to be privy to. He suspected that was why she was trying to change the subject.
"It would be better for you to read this yourself, rather than have me read it to you."
"Is that because it is beyond your understanding, Varda-nim?"
The question might have seemed rude on the surface, but not among those who understood magic.
"Precisely. I study the secrets of the forest. Even if I read a witch's secrets, I would not be able to convey their full meaning."
"I shall have to learn the elven tongue, then."
"That will not be a problem. You and I will have plenty of time from now on."
One-on-one instruction from Varda, whom countless people yearned to receive even a single word of advice from, was a luxury even a king could rarely enjoy.
"I look forward to learning from you."
"Likewise. I look forward to it."
Eugene carefully took the hand Varda extended. With this, all matters concerning the letter were concluded. The time had come to return.
Their business at the mansion was finished, yet no one suggested it was time to leave, not Varda and not even Grace.
It was one last brief indulgence of Varda's reluctance to part. Waiting it out was no hardship, especially when Eugene's own mind was still unsettled by the secret of his birth.
"Do you know of the small village at the forest's entrance?"
"This forest has many entrances."
Grace answered Eugene's question with a smile.
"Ah! I mean the village on the Bonyard side of the forest. Everyone else left, and only one old man remains there."
"I know it. I once visited there in the past, to try and save a dying wheat field."
As if recalling that time, Varda's golden eyes narrowed.
"They said that as you walked across the wheat field ruined by famine, blessing it, abundant grain sprang up in your wake. I had never even heard of magic that powerful."
"Thanks to that, the young lady was bedridden and groaning in agony for a whole month. It was only natural, having wielded such immense power when she was still immature, both physically and magically. She broke out in hives all over her body; I was so terribly worried back then."
Grace sighed.
"I was young then and emotionally immature. I do not behave that way anymore."
It was the same childish heart that had once thrown tearful tantrums, refusing to leave her only family. It also held unconditional compassion and kindness.
That was what had made her help those suffering from the famine, enduring even the agony of lying sick in bed.
"Now, she is called the Lady of the Forest, the Witch of the Forest, and many other names. She knows enough of the world to act with judgment, so she will not become a hindrance on your path."
The grown Varda was no longer compassionate without reservation. As a mage, she faced the world with cool judgment.
Several more days passed.
The little dryads that Grace had employed ceased moving and returned to being trees. She no longer had even the strength left to maintain her avatars.
The group organized the belongings in the mansion. They preserved the precious, memory-laden objects so they would not become shrouded in dust, and prepared the items they would need for life outside the forest.
It was fortunate that Homi was a woman too. She looked after Varda just as devotedly as she did Eugene.
"When I first met your squire, I sensed a scent of the forest similar to my own."
Varda spoke as she watched Homi organizing the baggage.
"Does that mean Homi has an aptitude for forest magic as well? I have known her for a long time, but I never had that impression."
"No. It is different from that. I felt as if the spirits of beasts were following in her shadow, shall I say? I suspect that may be the reason she cannot speak in the human tongue. One who leads beasts would have need of the beasts' own language. It is merely a conjecture. This is not my specialty, so you need not take it too seriously."
Though Varda was being modest, her insight could not be dismissed. It seemed certain there was more to Homi's condition than simply having strong beast blood.
As several more days passed, the moment of parting arrived at last.
A chair was placed in one corner of the mansion's garden, and Grace sat down upon it.
"This is my final wish. Please leave while I am still smiling."
"Grace..."
"I do not wish for you to see the sight of my eyes slowly closing as my consciousness fades, and my head drooping at the last. No mother would want to show her daughter such a thing."
"..."
As Varda hesitated, unable to bring herself to leave, Homi took her hand and gently led her outside.
Varda took one step. And then another step, and then another.
As Grace receded into the distance, she saw them all off with the same benevolent smile as always.
"My beloved child. Please, one day, come and find this place again. Life continues to cycle, so another life will be waiting for you here in my stead."
Those were the parting words Grace left them before disappearing from sight.
It was a farewell that promised reunion in another form rather than eternal separation, a restrained parting befitting an elf and a dryad.
Since they were not human, there was no need to bury a cold corpse in the earth. Eugene thought that was truly a blessing.
And so the party grew to three.
A single human knight.
A single beastkin squire.
A single elven mage.
Their races, the blood that flowed in their veins, their homelands—all were different, yet none of them felt that the others were strangers.
Three mighty gears destined to change the history of the world had come together. They began to mesh and turn.