Valerian, The Legendary

87 Meeting.

Valerian got back to the battle mage tower and he was not praised by his master, Fallax. As soon as the door behind him was closed, the old man had him run up the stairs. The brutal pressure from the spells was too strong. This had Valerian almost crawling on his hands and feet.

Although the treatment was inhumane Valerian knew why he was being put through this. Fallax had told him to keep his attributes hidden, although he only used three of them, it was still enough to send out a shock among the crowd.

A battle mage was already feared and schemed against by the other two groups of gifted people, and they must remain low-key before they become strong. Being able to use more than one attribute was already a thing that kept people against you on the edge, but this boy just displayed the talent to use three attributes, and that too as a battle mage. This was just like calling the messengers of death to dine with him, and serving his heart as a dessert.

Fallax was teaching him a dreadful lesson. However, he did not point out the fact that the brutality Valerian displayed during the matches was a good thing. He just sent out a message that if you wish to find trouble then do not be afraid when you find it, be careful what you wish for.

Meanwhile, Azula had sent a message to Fragrantia, informing her about the situation. She was not as panicked as she was earlier, because the troubling elements have been dealt with. Valerian was very decisive and this had deterred the young people from other empires to be wary of her, while those from the Lumen empire had become more united against the pressure from the Stella Empire.

Priscilla asked, “Your Highness, what shall we do with the body?”

Azula thought for a moment and then said, “Preserve it and later when you receive the word from my mother, do what she says.”

The door of their room was knocked at this moment. Priscilla opened the door and saw a few people standing outside. She placed a hand on the whip at her waist and asked in a low voice, “What can I help you with?”

The person in front of the group said, “We would like to meet Her Highness, Azula Verus. Please pass on the word, that it is me, Gerald, the grandson of the war minister of the Empire.”

.....

Azula could hear them, yet she waited before responding. Priscilla nodded and closed the door before she turned to face Azula. The princess said, “These people must be desperate to get in the good books.”

The maid nodded and asked, “However, Valerian or Magnus Magister Fallax will not give them any face, so they have come to you. What do you want to do?”

Azula leaned back in the chair and said, “Let them come in and see what they have to say.”

Priscilla nodded while Azula picked up the cup of tea from the table and took a sip as the maid opened the door and let the people come in. What followed next was a session of flattering and compliments for both Azula and Valerian. They were all children from noble households and knew that the Empire was almost at war with Stella and Valkyria’s alliance.

They were sort of trying to keep their distance from Azula because of this, but this sudden explosion caused by Valerian made them think that the situation was probably not all bad. Fools, that was what Azula thought when she saw them.

...

Fragrantia was sitting in her study, dealing with a few things in the outer regions of the Empire. She was an empress and was sure that the border regions will start getting affected by the tension between the nations. She had just finished sorting out her thoughts over how to deal with this thing.

Just when she thought she can get a shut-eye, the door of her study was knocked from outside. She said, “Come in.”

The shadow commander, Camilla was standing in front of her and the lady seemed to be short of breath. Fragrantia asked, “What happened?”

The empress raised her eyebrows when she looked at Camilla. Never has this lady lost her calm but today, that myth was broken. After Camilla caught her breath she said, “Valerian disabled Prince Barak of Valkyria and killed Crown Prince Tyrant of Stella Empire, in two duels in the academy.”

These words made Fragrantia shocked. She did not expect such a thing to happen. The empress had shock paint her face, she did not know when she stood up from her chair. She asked, “Are you sure?”

Camilla nodded and said, “Just now her highness, Azula, sent the message from the academy.”

Fragrantia nodded and after letting out a sigh, she sat down on the chair again, thinking about what to do next, when Camilla said, “Your Excellency, I have a suggestion.”

The empress nodded without raising her head and said, “We can give up Valerian and stop the war.”

Fragrantia gazed back at her and said, “If not for the fact that you are loyal to me and have been by my side for the past ten years, I would have killed you for thinking that.”

Camilla shivered because she knows that Fragrantia would actually do that to her. She said, “I beg your pardon, Your Excellency.”

Fragrantia waved her hand and said, “Go away, I need to think.”

Camilla bowed her head and said, “Yes, your excellency.”

The study was closed and not only the empress but every official and minister knew that Valerian was a battlemage and he killed the crown prince in a fair duel. The situation had escalated beyond their imagination, however, this tense period made them even more united.

After a couple of hours, Fragrantia sighed and picked up a paper and quill. She sent a message to Valerian and Azula. Later she went to meet Libra, who was looking into the military positioning of the enemy and adjusting things with his generals.

When Fragrantia came over the discussion was halted, but the empress said, “It is good that everyone is here, I have a few things to discuss with you.”

The people all focused on her, as the Empress walked over to stand beside Libra gracefully and said, “I have a way to delay the war.”

Alm asked, “What is it, Your Excellency?”

Fragrantia organized her language and said, “We all know that the Emperor of Stella, Celtic is a cautious man. As you all know, his son was killed by the hand of one of our own. So, that is a threat taken down. Tyrant died while fighting Valerian in a life and death challenge, he initiated.

We can shift the blame on the prince of Valkyria. Everyone knows that the berserks are not very friendly and can even use their own people as meat shields, so why not the prince of Stella?

From what we know about the situation, Barak, the Valkyrian was beating the people of our empire and leaving them without any power. Valerian beat up Barak and Tyrant jumped up. However, the berserk prince did not inform Tyrant that Valerian was a battlemage. So, we can push them into a mutually discordant situation. What do you think?”

Alm said, “It is wise to avoid war. I agree with her Excellency, we might be able to reap the benefits of the fisherman.”

The others also nodded and the conclusion was to send out a neutral meeting with the representatives of the Stella Empire and have them come forward to talk and bring their prince back home. Libra sent out a messenger with his seal and another rider team was sent out to collect the remains of the crown prince from the imperial academy.

They were going to put up a complete show, to look like they respected the integrity of the Stellan prince, but that was it. Libra has put a gag order on the contents of the meeting. Just like them, the people of the Stella Empire also knew what happened to their prince. Although they were angry, they did not know the truth behind the matter.

At this point of chaos, they received a meeting invitation from Lumen Empire and also, the news from their students in the academy, that the Lumen empire displayed complete respect and show for the Crown Prince, and Princess Azula herself sent off the riders.

...

Valerian was not allowed to communicate with the outside world, but at night when he was sleeping, a faint voice lingered in the void, waking him up. In front of him were two people, the driads have come seeking him again. The child was shocked because the driads did not appear in person but like shadows on the surface of the wooden table.

Subconsciously, Valerian used his hands to ask, “Who are you?”

The other party used telepathy and said, “Long time no see, Valerian. I am Olivis, do you remember me?”