***NEED WORK

Suddenly, it was really, really quiet. And I was really, really awkward and uncomfortable, nervous even. I mean, why, how did I get Sir Elder Ravador as my mentor? I won’t lie; this was a good thing; a great thing! This is a deal no one would, should turn down…I think? It has to be; the strongest, wisest and the most powerful living Immortal of Galiasis was going to help me train!
…but why me?
Did he see something in me? Maybe it was because I’m so far behind from the others, he wants to make sure I make progress at strides to keep up---

Deus, this is nerve-wracking. At least I’m not alone and have Mivian as a training partner---

I heard Mivian sigh, sounding aggravated.
“See ya, old man; I’m going to go back to sleep.” she said.

I swear my eyes almost bugged out of their sockets in panic.
What? No, she can’t leave now!
Sir Ravador frowned, his brows furrowing.
“Mivian, what if I had said we will be resuming Training today?” he said.
Mivian was already walking down the Elder’s Hall. She let out a snort.
“Forget it, old man. I already woke up early for you; you’re pushing it.” she growled moodily.
With that she marched down to the far end of the hall and disappeared out of sight.

I stared after my partner, gaping in slight horror.
Now I’m alone! What am I supposed to do?
I heard a quiet sigh.
“That girl,” he muttered.

I turned back to Sir Ravador’s desk and saw him leaning slightly over his desk. He had one elbow on the desk with his knuckles lightly supporting the side of his jaw. In his other hand he entertained what looked like a necklace; a small charm spinning in the air as he twisted the delicate silver chain in between his fingers. His expression was clouded, as if to be deep in thought.

Am I disturbing him? What do I do?
I glanced around awkwardly, fidgeting around and at a loss. Maybe I should leave---

“Zavius,”

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the cool, calm tone.
“Sir,” I said in alarm, my voice sharper than I wanted.
Did I just yelp? Dammit, how embarrassing.
I cleared my throat once quickly and tried again.
“Yes sir?”
Sir Elder smiled and straightened in his chair attentively.
“Pardon if I am intruding, but you seem to have a lot on your mind. Is there anything I could do to lighten your burden?”
I blinked, caught off guard.
My burden? On my mind?
But then, my mind drifted, bringing from my memories the things that were weighing me down.
The mysterious cloaked stranger.
Taeri’s Branding.
She-conscience…

“No sir.” I murmured, looking down. “My problems are not worthy of your attention.”

That wasn’t a lie; Sir Elder would have the responsibility of all of Stranaglastre on his shoulders. What were my issues compared to that?

I heard Sir Elder chuckle softly, and I looked up.
He was gazing at me, his eyes warm and friendly.
“Nonsense.” he said.
Again, I found myself caught off guard. I don’t know, I’ve always had this rigid, cooler image of Sir Elder, like a king of great power and significantly different from the people he rules. All business, not so much compassion. But for some reason, right now, it was as if he saw me as his equal---
I blinked, snapping out of it.
Ha! Me leveling shoulders with the Supreme Elder. Good one.

“Zavius.”

Sir Ravador voice was still gentle, bringing my attention back to him.
“In my long life, I have come to learn that burdens are not always meant to be carried by just oneself. And that sharing a burden in some ways shows courage. I understand this arrangement is rather sudden and unexpected; something that may take time to adjust to but I do hope you will eventually come to trust me fully.”
I grimaced, feeling guilty.
“Yes, sir.”
“Oh, and one more thing.”
“Sir?”
Sir Elder Ravador smiled, his young face glowing with centuries of wisdom.
“There is no need to be nervous.”

Strange, the moment he said that my unsettling nerves calmed. Sir Ravador leaned back into his seat, his fingers clasped together casually as his elbows rested on the armrest.
“So,” he said. “ Your burdens. I will not ask of you to tell me everything, but as your mentor, is there anything I could aid you with?”
I breathed out, trying to straighten out my thoughts.
“My burden.” I echoed. “Well, at the moment, I think I feel overwhelmed with everything.”
“Everything?” Sir Ravador questioned, looking at me curiously.
I fidgeted, squirming.
“Yea---I mean yes. Everything.” I said.
Sir Ravador hummed, tilting his head as he observed me.
“Hmm, everything, as in this arrangement, the advanced promotion?” he asked.
The way he said that made it seem like he could see right through me. Maybe he could.
“That’s…only a part of it.” I admitted.
I wasn’t going to lie to the Supreme Elder. At this pace, I may end up spilling everything…

“That uniform; it is new, yes?”

I looked up, catching myself from drifting again. Damn, I need to stay focused.
“Yes sir.”
“Thya’s doing, I imagine?”
“Yes sir.”
He nodded.
“I like it, it is very becoming on you.” he said mildly.
“…Thank you.”
Did I sound too stiff?

Sir Ravador sighed quietly, looking a bit weary. Was it something I did?

“Zavius.”
“Sir,” I replied, sharply and promptly.
Sir Ravador almost grimaced as he lifted a hand up.
“Enough with the formalities; there is no need to be so severely proper.” he said, motioning with his hands to settle down.
This time, I grimaced.
“Sorry, I’m…it’s a force of habit, s-- ah…”
Sir Ravador gave me an amused look.
“You have experience in military.” he noted, not asking.
I stopped, surprised.
“Uh, yes. In my human years.” I answered.
“Interesting.” Sir Ravador said. “In my early years, I was a knight serving a queen.”
My eyes widened.
“A knight? Like a champion in shining armor with a sword, that kind of knight?” I asked.
“I know it is not the same, but I suppose we can count that towards similarities between the two of us,” he said.
“No, I mean, wow.” I breathed, in awe. “A real knight!...Oh…sorry, sir; I didn’t mean to stare gaping and rambling like a kid in front of his favorite superhero.”
Sir Ravador laughed, a real, full-out laughter. It wasn’t an obnoxious, choking-on-air sort of chortle, but it was a very young, light and cheerful sound.
I made the Supreme Elder laugh.
“A superhero…” he echoed, as he started to settle down.
Why did I say that?! My face burned in embarassment and I squirmed. He must’ve noticed my beet red face or something because suddenly, he looked very apologetic.
“My apologies,” he said. “It was just that your expression was very youthful.”
Youthful. My face burned.
“You reminded me of when I first joined the Four Gates.”
I stopped again, surprised, yet again.
“Me? You?” I said, stunned.
He raised an eyebrow at me, his expression still amused.
“Is it so hard to believe that I was once young?” he asked.
“Ah well…” I started, trying to rephrase my thoughts. “Yea, in a way. I mean, I know you were once a Trainee but…I can’t picture it.”
Sir Ravador just smiled thoughtfully for a moment before he got up from his chair.
“Come,” he said. “I believe we should better acquaint ourselves.”
He smoothly and quickly glided down from the platform and came to a stop before me. I realized then that we were about the same height; he maybe just half an inch taller than I was.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
I saw his eyes flash knowingly as he continued to smile.
“Allow me to be your guide.” he simply said.

And the he reached forward towards me and patted me once firmly on my right shoulder.

I blinked, really confused at this gesture. But then I realized that something was different---the lighting, the space. I inhaled, taking a step back as I took in my new, suddenly changed surroundings.

We were no longer in Elder’s Hall, and I found myself standing in a wide passageway.
I hadn’t even blinked.
“I apologize; did I startle you?” Sir Ravador asked.
I blinked.
He had teleported us without me feeling a thing.
“Uh, just a little,” I said.
I took a look around our new surroundings, trying to figure out where we were.
A quick look told me I was in a passageway, but a closer look told me it was different from the other parts of Paramount Towers.
“Where are we?” I asked.

Sir Ravador gave me one last look before he turned and started his way down the hall. Instinctively, I followed in his lead.
The hallway we were walking through was different from any other passageway within the Paramount Towers; the slick marble floor was not the glossy blue I was used to seeing but of a dark, midnight blue. The dark marble stretched fully up the left side wall, the polished stone smooth enough to reflect back a perfect image of me like a mirror. On my right, instead of the usual clean, sold white walls and ceiling, I found myself surrounded by colors and depth of a weathered stone corridor, long open arches framing a magnificent view of the city on the wall right side of me.
We were literally out in the open; I could feel the soft warm breeze through my hair and taste the sky with every breath I took. The way the sunlight reached into the space of this hall with its softest touch was just right, taking my breath away. The smooth cutting edge of the dark marble and the worn ancient stones meshed seamlessly together to form this…

…this place worthy of gods.

It was like a scene right out of an adventure book, where the hero finds himself in a deserted ancient castle in the middle of nowhere, in an unexplored world. I didn’t think such places really existed.
I took full advantage of the place and sucked in a deep breath.
The air whistled down my throat and cooled my lungs in a delicate touch. I sighed out, exhilaration running through me.

“To answer you previous question, we are currently in the core of Paramount Towers.” Sir Ravador said. “This is where the private quarters of the acting Supreme Elder is located, along with the greatest totems of our long history.”
“The Essences of the Six Legends.” I said immediately, still in awe with the place.
Sir Ravador glanced at me with a mildly surprised expression.
“You are familiar with the story of the Six Legends?” he asked.
“Only a little of what Thya has told me.” I said. “She even gave me a book to read about them.”
“Ah,” Sir Ravador sighed, smiling. “Of course, it is one of her favorite tales of our history. Tell me, your thoughts on the Six Legends…”
I could feel my brows scrunching as I considered my response.
“To be honest, I don’t really know much about them yet to have any thought of my own.” I said. “But it’s definitely interesting and I’m curious to learn more about these guys that supposedly gave us our abilities---uh, well, most of us, anyway.”
I saw Sir Ravador smile in a knowing manner, as if he saw a flaw in something I just said.
“Hmm,” he simply hummed, sounding oddly content. “An open mind is a key to knowledge and wisdom; remember that.”
“Yes sir.”

A peaceful silence fell over us then, with only the breeze stirring the air around us. I still had no idea where we were going but I felt as if I could walk on for hours and hours.
My eyes drifted from the scene outside to my reflection in the dark seamless, flawless marble wall.
For once, in what felt like a long time, I felt somewhat at ease…

“This is the very path I took on my way to training with my mentor.”

I turned back to Sir Ravador, surprising me yet again.
I knew he went through his training age to get where he is now, but to actually picture it was another story.
“Training?” I echoed. “All the way out---uh, wherever we are?”
Sir Ravador looked over at me curiously, so I hastily added.
“Uh, it’s just this place…it seems very out of the way.” I glanced around once more. “It’s almost hidden.”
Sir Elder Ravador smiled, and nodded.
“You are right.” he said. “There were other Training Areas that were more convenient and much more accessible. Here, as you noted, is secluded and sheltered from the population here in the Paramount Towers. I am sure not many know that such places as this exist.”
We continued to walk through the ancient stone halls, our pace calm and leisurely. He went on.
“But there was a reason why as to why my training was arranged as so, and why this place was most suitable for this purpose.”
Curiosity bubbled inside of me as I followed him through the hall.
“Reason, sir?” I asked.
I looked back at the stone wall, almost trying to will myself to see the young trainee that was to be Supreme Elder passing through the hall in its reflective surface.
“In truth, the decision of my training and assignment of this mentor was not made by the acting Supreme Elder at the time. It was a decision I made for myself.”
“You chose your own mentor?” I asked in disbelief. “I didn’t even know that was allowed.”
Sir Ravador glanced over his shoulder again, smiling.
“Well, it isn’t allowed.” he said.
I was confused. What was he saying?
“I made the arrangement behind the back of my assigned mentor--- at the time, the acting Supreme Elder Balezar.” he explained, just like that.
I think my jaw hit the floor.
“Your mentor…Supreme Elder…” I echoed, shocked.
“A severe man; a true believer of physical power that had a short temper to equal his severe personality.” Sir Ravador sighed, actually sounding bored. “He refused to accept that intellect can outsmart strength at any given time. I suppose that is why he had never taken to like me very much.”

The way he spoke was almost nonchalant. I was too stunned to speak.

“So the secrecy was something I needed, but not just for myself, but for my chosen mentor.”

I swallowed the stunned knot in my throat and managed to get my voice back.
“I’m sure if the Supreme Elder was hot-headed as you say, your chosen mentor would need the protection of secrecy as well.” I said.
“Oh? But that was not the reason behind the careful measures we took.” he said. “See, my chosen mentor was initially very reluctant to take me under her guidance. And rightfully so, in the situation and status she was in, taking a trainee had the potentiality of causing a widespread outrage through the Union.”
Sir Ravador let out a small laugh.
“But I was young---stubborn, determined and just so persistent. I believe she finally gave in out of annoyance. Still, I would like to believe that she accepted my request partly because she saw some capability in me.” he chuckled.
“And it all worked out?” I asked, finding myself hooked on the story of his adventurous and daring early years.
Sir Ravador hummed thoughtfully.
“For a while, yes. My new mentor had a great responsibility to this Union she was bound to. This meant she could be here one moment and be gone in the next. In a way it made hiding our secret easier. When she was in Galiasis, though, she kept her word to me and dedicated her time to my training. It was much more than what Sir Balezar ever did in our sessions, which was basically his excuse to show his oh-so-mighty raw power.” he said dryly.

…Did I just hear sarcasm come out from the Supreme Elder?

“You said for a while.” I reminded him, though I could see the flow of this story.
“Yes, eventually he discovered my actions and when he did, he did not disappoint. He was livid; instead of appauding me of my initiative, he threatened to have me stripped of my Rights as a Slayer.”
“But obviously, he didn’t.” I said. “So did that bring an end to your secret training?”
Sir Ravador paused before answering, turning to face me.
“No,”
“But—”
“He was going to end my days as a Slayer regardless. It mattered not to him what actions I took to repent afterwards.”
I frowned.
“But then how…”
Sir Ravador smirked.
“My chosen mentor convinced him otherwise. She made a very…convincing case.” he said, somewhat evasively. “Sir Balezar had no choice but to release me from his guidance and keep this arrangement a secret from the rest of the Four Gates Union. So I hold no regrets in the actions I took.”

I think I could somewhat guess at what went down between the three of them that day. A Supreme Elder, the strongest Immortal existing at the time against his rebellious and disloyal disciple and the mentor that was chosen over him. That would have hurt his pride at least a little. And with his short-temper and power…
I scowled, completely mystified.
How the hell did they get to work things out so smoothly?
“She must have been a great mentor.” I noted.

Sir Ravador suddenly stopped in his tracks, causing me to stop short. He turned to the dark marble wall and gazed evenly into his reflection’s face.
“Yes. She was.” he said. “In that respect, I hope I can be to you what she was to me.”

More silence followed, and I stood there waiting. While I waited, I thought about everything Sir Elder Ravador just told me.
Going against his mentor and the acting Supreme Elder at the time, and going through all that trouble to receive training from a different mentor. He had initiative, determination courage and the guts to do it all, even as a trainee.
He had more in him then than I have now.
I glanced back at the wall and realized Sir Ravador was studying me through the reflection. I quickly recovered to move the attention elsewhere.
“So, where did you and you mentor train?” I asked.
Sir Ravador turned away from the wall and gave me a look before nodding down the hall.
“Right through here.” he said.
I looked down the hall and just a further up was a set of huge white doors that stood out in contrast to the other ancient and dark colors that surrounded it.
“Come, let me show you.” Sir Ravador said.

We resumed walking, Sir Ravador in the lead and me following behind him. As we approached the door, I saw that the door was very intricately designed, framed with elegant ribbons of gold curling and branching off on the surface of the white stone. Just as we were close enough to touch them, they fell back, pushing open on their own and making way for our entry. Sir Ravador didn’t stop or even slow his strides as he glided in through the open doors.

Me, being a little more cautious, hesitated.

This was where Sir Ravador, my Supreme Elder and now my mentor trained. What did he do to obtain the abilities he must have now?

Finally curiosity got the better of me and I stepped in through the open doors.