Assassin's Chronicle

Behind the back garden was a long walkway. Saul’s magic lab was at the end of the walkway. Anfey had been to the lab once, but only once. It wasn’t because Saul did not trust him but because Anfey was useless in labs.

A lone red brick building loomed ahead. The area around the building was paved with stone, and a dozen armed swordsmasters were patrolling around the building. The red building wasn’t the lab, which was hidden underground. The actual lab was much larger than the building. The lab was built underground to minimize damage. Under the pavement stones was a large magic array set up by Saul himself. It protected the lab and the people outside in case something went wrong.

The swordsmaster opened the door when he saw Anfey approaching. Anfey smiled at the man and was walking into the building when a figure lunged at him. Anfey reflexively wanted to punch the figure, then he realized it was Hagan. He held back his punch in time.

"What are you doing?" Anfey asked as he helped Hagan up.

"I’ll tell you later," Hagan said hurriedly, then dashed out to the walkway that led to the building.

Anfey smiled and shook his head. He had an idea what Hagan was doing. After all, he was the one who told Hagan about the possibility of having an alchemist’s lab in a magic lab.

"Lord Saul is not in the lab right now," the swordsmaster that opened the door said. "Please come with me."

"Where is he?"

"The practice field."

Anfey nodded quietly and followed the swordsmaster. The man led Anfey down a long, winding stairway and turned down a hallway. At the end of the hall was a heavy black gate.

"What is Master Saul doing in there?" Anfey asked.

The swordsmaster smiled. "I am not in the position to know that," he said. "I cannot go in there." Then the man turned around and walked away.

Anfey walked up to the door and pushed on it. There was another door inside of the same size and material. Unlike the door on the outside, there were dozens of magical runes carved on the sides of the gate.

Anfey closed the outer door. He tapped the runes on the side of the door, and the door glided open.

Anfey saw that the young unicorn was walking around in a circle of purple light. It was walking very slowly, as if it was hurt or tired. Saul was standing next to the light with Bruzuryano next to him.

"Lord Saul," Anfey called. "You were looking for me?"

"Yes," Saul said. He pointed at the unicorn. "It needs you."

"What happened to it?" Anfey asked. Before he could finish, the unicorn suddenly smashed into the light and caused it to buzz quietly. The unicorn was thrown back and crashed into the ground. Its eyes were full of uneasiness and fear, and its blue eyes appeared as if filled with tears.

"It’s growing fast," Bruzuryano commented. "It already knows that it will be throw back by the shield."

"What is this?" Anfey asked. He felt uncomfortable seeing the unicorn so sad. Anfey knew that this was because of Tear of Stars, but he did not mind. The unicorn had been his child since the first time he picked up it.

"Just some experiments," Saul said. "Don’t worry, it’s good for it." Saul turned to Bruzuryano and said, "As far as I know, unicorns take twenty years to mature. This thing is growing so fast. Almost too fast."

"So this is what you’re curious about," Bruzuryano said.

"Yes."

"Then you should stop here. Don’t forget," Bruzuryano said. "He is chosen by the Heart of Nature."

"You’re saying..."

"It will soon become a matured unicorn, I am certain," Bruzuryano said. "Its rate of maturity would decrease significantly. Maybe Anfey could become a paladin in thirty years."

"Thirty years?"

"Are you unsatisfied with that?" Bruzuryano asked with chuckle. "The Heart of Nature is limited, and the unicorn’s bloodline affects the rate of maturity as well. The fastest it can reach maturity is thirty years."

"The mother is an evolved unicorn," Anfey said suddenly.

"What?" Bruzuryano frowned and asked.

"Its mother," Anfey said. "She was already evolved. There is no doubt about its bloodline."

Bruzuryano frowned at Anfey. "I’m not saying you’re a liar, Anfey, but what you’re saying is almost unreal. Even we would not go near an evolved unicorn."

Anfey shrugged.

"How did you come by this thing, anyway? Even the mother herself is enough to kill you a dozen times over," Bruzuryano said, staring at Anfey. He knew about the unicorn, but not its origins. He needed to know.

Anfey looked at Saul, who nodded. "We came by it by accident," he said. "Its mother was fighting a manticore and lost."

"Impossible," Bruzuryano said. "An evolved unicorn is more than enough to kill a manticore."

"It had just been born then," Anfey said.

"I see," Bruzuryano said with a sigh. "Tragic. I wonder why a manticore would challenge an unicorn."

"I don’t know," Anfey lied. "They were already fighting when we saw them." Of course he couldn’t tell the truth. He knew the unicorns were holy creatures to the followers of the Goddess of Nature, and telling the truth would possibly turn Bruzuryano against him.

"Then you saw it?"

Anfey nodded.

"I don’t know what to say," Bruzuryano sighed. "Really, you should have been a follower of the Goddess. You must be blessed by the Goddess herself."

"I know why the Heart chose him," Saul said.

"What is it?"

"He ingested Tear of Stars."

Bruzuryano sighed and shook his head. "How did you get that now?"

"Its mother was dying but so was the manticore," Anfey said. "I wanted to help the unicorn so I killed the manticore. Then we found the Tear of Stars and Christian told me to eat it."

Bruzuryano opened and closed his mouth a few times, and finally only sighed. "Like I’ve said, you must be blessed by the Goddess herself. It is a shame that you choose not to follow her."

"Don’t forget that he’s my student," Saul said with a smile. "You are becoming more and more like Slanbrea."

"No one said otherwise," Bruzuryano said. "Are you saying that you will reject him if he chooses to follow the Goddess? Tell me, Saul, how often do you come across someone as lucky as he?"

"He’s my student. He’s special."

"He’s not special," Bruzuryano snapped. "Just tell me yes or no."

"This is Anfey’s choice," Saul said. "You should ask him."

Anfey frowned. He had expect Saul to handle the situation. "I just want to study magic right now," he said hesitantly. "Religion is not my concern yet. I can promise, though. As long as the followers of Goddess of Nature do not harm me and my friends, I will not harm them."

"To hell to that," Bruzuryano said. "My people have never harmed Saul’s students, and never will. Or else I would turn into Slanbrea."

"Slanbrea? What did he do?" Anfey asked, surprised.