Guardian's Farm 2

I took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air of the wilderness. Even with all the enchantments keeping its air clean and fragrant, I had never enjoyed the smell of the capital. It was always too fake.

Just like its people.

The wooden cart creaked beneath me as it rolled along the dusty road, and I wondered whether I was doing the right thing by resigning suddenly. Maybe if I stayed, I could have still made a difference … even when the people I had risked my life with betrayed everything we stood for.

“No,” I sighed as I shifted on the hardwood, feeling the ache in my bones. I was forty, basically a middle-aged man even without the endless wounds that littered my body. Every day, training was getting harder and harder, and under the constant challenges, it was only a matter of time before I lost my position as Grand Guardian.

For the first time in my life since I was a bare-faced teenager that ran away from home to enlist in the army, I wanted to be selfish. I fought, I won … then I lost. Wallowing desperately in retirement was my right.

The changes were already different. For once, my long beard was gone, along with my hair, which had been maintained meticulously by multiple experts. ‘To reflect the proper gravitas of the position’ they claimed.

Well, that was a problem no more, just like the fancy clothes I could barely move in with. Instead of magical silk, I wore a simple linen tunic and trousers. No insignias, no medals; just a man blending into the backdrop of the countryside. Just another veteran trying to find a place in a world he couldn’t make any sense of by swinging a blade.

I had only one possession with me. A rolled-up canvas painting. A painting of Anna, the only member of the party that didn’t betray me … at least, I hoped so. I didn’t dare to talk with her before resigning and leaving the capital. She hadn’t been in that fateful meeting, and I didn’t dare to seek her.

I couldn’t handle her beautiful — hopeful, I meant hopeful — eyes looking at me with the same disdain, like I was some naive idiot who didn’t understand how the world worked. That somehow I asked for too much.

I couldn’t help but wonder if she would understand why I left without a word. Part of me wished she was here. I could have used a friend, but I was relieved she wasn’t entangled in my departure. I was a peasant-born soldier that was already on the downward spiral of my life, while she was a young mage with an infinite future in her hands.

Too good to waste by the side of an old man.

“Almost at the town,” the driver called from the front of the car, pulling me from my thoughts. He was a stout man with a graying beard and eyes that had seen their share of seasons.

“Really, that was quick,” I replied.

“That happens when you’re lost in your own mind,” he replied. “Excited about meeting your family?”

I sighed. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any family, not for the last decade,” I admitted. “The dark horde had seen to that.”

The driver winced. “Sorry about it,” he said. “But, what are you doing here, then? We don’t see many people without families near here.”

“I’m here to join the expedition process. I heard that the city is willing to grant a few acres of land for anyone that’s willing to work the uncultivated land.”

The driver gave me a surprised expression. “Really? A surprising call for a veteran,” he said. “I thought that you all received land as a reward.”

I chuckled. “Is it that obvious that I’m a veteran?”

The driver chuckled. “Well, the scars were the first clue,” he teased. “But, it’s mostly the way you carry yourself. You look like a man that’s used to wearing armor.”

“True,” I said. “Unfortunately, the land promise of Lord Magna didn’t go as smoothly as the declaration had suggested.”

I didn’t need to fake the bitterness in my tone. It had been the first thing that I truly fought for, doing my best to give the soldiers who fought for us a reward. But, Elric and the rest had stood with the nobles, claiming that there was no precedent for such a thing as taking the lands of the nobles.

Nobles that lived behind the walls for a decade as the dark horde scoured the land.

Stability first, Elric defended, with only Thorne on my side, I wasn’t able to change their minds. Then, stability first turned into status-quo, and two years later, they were already planning to tax the villagers that had suffered for a decade to fund their new army, leaving the endless coffers of the nobles untouched.

It took too long for me to realize what Elric was planning. He was aiming for the empty throne, and for that, he needed the noble support…

“You sound bitter,” the driver distracted me again.

“I’m more angry at my own naivete,” I replied. “I believed some promises when I should have known better.”

“Live and learn, my friend,” he replied. “So, have you seen some battles?”

“One or two,” I admitted. “Nothing too big. I mostly acted as a part of a small group, away from the large battlefields.” It was true, even if most of the time it meant we were deep in the enemy territory, desperately struggling to survive.

“Lucky. I did a stint in the militia myself, years ago. Nothing as brave as the war, but we dealt with some shadow squads.”

I shrugged. “War is war. The scale doesn’t make it any less harsh. And, you were there, defending your home. That’s as brave as anyone else.”

“True,” the driver said, pushing his chest forward bravely. I hoped that the topic would change. It did, but not in the direction that I wished. “Have you ever seen any of the Seven?” he asked.

I sighed. “Once or twice, I thought that I had met them, but I realized that I was mistaken,” I replied. “It was just an illusion.”

“Tough,” he said. “They must have been amazing. My favorite is Thorne. The great archer that could shoot a drake hidden in the clouds while his eyes were closed.”

“That sounds like a heroic action,” I said, feeling a sudden sense of loss. Of all the betrayals, Thorne’s hurt the worst. Only because I was too cowardly to face —

“How about the Lady of Water. Is she as beautiful as they say?” the driver asked

“I don’t know about it. Are there really tales about her?” I asked, desperate to deflect.

“Yes. The poems about her beauty are sung in every single tavern. I thought that it would be a common topic around the campfire for the soldiers as well.”

“No,” I said, my voice chipped. The last thing I wanted was to talk about Anna. I didn’t even want to remember her, but the bare mention was enough. I fought with myself, doing my best to refuse the temptation to unroll the canvas slightly, just enough to see her beautiful eyes.

I was a broken, pathetic man…

“So, any idea about the general landscape?” I asked, desperately wanting an excuse to think about anything other than Anna.

“Nothing much,” he said. “Southern region didn’t suffer from the blight, but without any guard force for a decade, the forests had grown wild, with some dangerous beasts. Even for a veteran, it will be dangerous.”

“Thanks for the warning,” I said. A few more practical questions later, the conversation died, and the silence settled between us once more.

I didn’t care much about the answers. I was here, because the Southern border was the farthest away from the capital, mostly filled with knightly houses and a few baronies, nothing that would earn a visit to the capital.

The last thing I needed was to be recognized. I wanted to stay hidden. If I was discovered, one of two things would happen. Either I would be dragged back to the capital one way or another to play the game of politics, or I would spend the rest of my life staving off assassins.

Worse, of the two choices, the latter was the more attractive one. After a life filled with fighting, I was too familiar with dealing with assassins murderers, and bloodthirsty knights. It was the grand halls of the capital echoing with empty promises and veiled ambitions that broke me.

More importantly, it broke the people I once trusted with my life, turning them into strangers, our ideals buried under greed; Titles, lands, and gold weighing more than promises.

I couldn’t help but let out a dark chuckle. The Dragon of Darkness may have failed to defeat us.

But victory did.