Chapter 101: Goodbyes

The morning was already up.

Reynold was standing by the big brown front door..

Gift mother already packed him so few things inside a travel pack and it was resting on his broad shoulders.

Today was the final day to say goodbye before tomorrow’s journey to the military camp.

Gift mother was standing right in front of him with her hands nervously wringing at the edge of her clothe. She swallowed hard with her chest rising and falling under her worn wool dress.

"Joining the military at this stage, Reynold..." she started with her voice a bit tight and shaking. "Is it really what you want?"

Reynold let out a nod. "Yes."

Gift mother then let out a heavy sigh, with her eyes glistening with small tears but she quickly wiped them. "Okay. Just... please, be careful out there and always keep your eyes on your surroundings. Out in those camps, it is more brutal than anything you ever faced here at the academy."

Reynold nodded again as his expression softening. "I will. Thanks"

Without another word, Gift mother opened her arms wide. Reynold did not hesitate. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, and buried his face briefly in her shoulder as she squeezed him tight.

When they pulled apart, Reynold shifted his eyes toward the hallway. Gift and Alistair were standing side by side near the corridor archway.

Reynold walked over to them.

Seeing him get close, Gift immediately pouted, her lower lip. "You have to promise me,.promise you will not forget us."

"Promise," Reynold said quietly.

Gift let out a watery sniffle before lunging forward to wrap her arms around his waist in a tight, desperate hug.

Reynold patted her back gently, and gave her a small, reassuring smile when she finally let go.

Then, he turned to face Alistair.

Alistair crossed his arms with a wide, lopsided grin, though his eyes carried a serious look. "Listen to me, Reynold. Whatever you do out there, do not go anywhere near the Frostpeak Wastes."

Reynold blinked with his brow furrowing.

FrostPeak Wastes? What the fuck is that?

"What is in the Frostpeak Wastes?" Reynold asked.

"The Malpas tribe and their war Golems," Alistair said, dropping his voice lower. "I read about them in the archives. They do not care who you are magic user, dragon rider. And they are real trouble."

Reynold let out a slow nod as a quick memory flashed in his mind. He remembered Professor Galen teaching them about the Golems and the dark magic that bound them. And how to fight them too..

"Thanks, Alistair," Reynold said.

Then they shared a brotherly hug.

Then, Reynold stepped out of the mansion and into the courtyard. He let out a low whistle. Above him, Pyreus—his massive dark red dragon let out a rumbling growl that sounded through the ground. Reynold climbed the back of the dragon back and pulled himself into the saddle, and then launched into the open sky.

Back at the academy, the door of an infirmary room was pushed opened..

Nymeria pushed it wide and stepped inside. She then rested her back against the door as she crossed her arms.

On the bed, Richard propped himself up against the wooden headboard.

In his hands, a worn deck of game cards flashed as he shuffled them back and forth with his casual skill.

He paused his hands mid-shuffle, and lifted his gaze to meet Nymeria.

"You are leaving tomorrow?" Richard asked.

Nymeria narrowed her eyes as she stepped further into the room. "How on earth did you know I was leaving tomorrow?"

Richard let out a dry chuckle, and tossed the cards onto the small wooden table beside the mattress. "Your father stopped by to see me. He told me."

Nymeria let out a low murmur, looking away toward the window. "Yeah... You have always been his favorite..."

"Lucky me then," Richard murmured back with a soft chuckle.

He paused, and his expression turned thoughtful as he studied Nymeria tense posture.

Slowly, he asked, "Have you gone to see your mother yet?"

Nymeria shook her head. "No. If I tell her, she will throw a fit and refuse to let me go. And I am definitely sure my father did not tell her either."

Richard nodded with his eyes shifting to the blanket. "Yeah... he did not tell her."

Hearing his words, Nymeria’s shoulders slumped, and her fierce defense dropped too..

Richard patted the empty mattress beside him. "Come here."

Nymeria walked over and sat down. She stretched her legs out across the bed and leaning her back against the headboard right beside Richard.

Richard reached over, and wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders.

Without hesitation, Nymeria rested her head against his chest, and listening to the steady, rhythmic beat of his heart.

"As long as you do not get yourself killed out there, and you write to let us know you are alive, she will be fine," Richard said softly.

Nymeria tilted her head up. "Do you really think so, Richard?"

""I do," Richard said. "As long as you don’t get yourself killed, your mother won’t have a reason to completely retreat into her shell forever."

"Are you sure about that?" Nymeria scoffed lightly. "She literally refused to speak to my father for an entire month just because he let me accept the academy invite when i was 15."

Richard let out a warm sigh. "You can not entirely blame her. You are her only child and she is just terrified of losing you."

Nymeria fell silent without saying anything.

After a long pause, Richard shifted slightly as he grinned. "As a responsible cousin, here is a few tip for you. If you ever find yourself cornered by a senior sergeant or an officer trying to flex their rank, remember this, you can always bargain your way out. If they have an ego, use their pride against them. If they think they are clever, let them walk right into their own trap. If they are arrogant or self-centered, twist it to your advantage. Make them play your game, not theirs."

Nymeria let out a dry, amused laugh. "Yes, Father."

Richard chuckled, shaking his head. "Just be careful out there..."

Aslo, inside Nymeria’s private dorm room, Nyx was sitting at a wooden desk.

Her travel bag was already packed and zipped near the door. Ever since what happened with Gwyn, she had staying with Nymeria.

Right now, she was writing to her father to notify him that she was enlisting as a military recruit.

She can’t go because her home village was far away in the frozen upper side of the North, it would roughly take nearly twenty hours to reach there.

Her quill scratched on the parchment as she finished writing.. she then lifted the parchment, and blew gently across the ink to dry it.

Once done, she folded the paper neatly and slipped it into a thick leather-sealed mail pouch.

Nyx grabbed her coat and tucked the pouch under her arm, and left the room.

She walked to the school gates.

The duty gateman looked up from his logbook as she approached.

"Going somewhere, cadet?" the man asked gruffly.

"I need to dispatch a letter to my father in the upper North," Nyx said,and slide the pouch onto the wooden desk.

The gateman nodded, before sliding a registration ledger toward her so she could log her destination and sender details.

Once she finished writing her name on the parchment, the gateman stamped the pouch and tossed it into the outgoing mail bin.

Nyx let out a short nod and then turned her back left.

.....

Author’s Note:

Dear Loyal Readers,

And with this, the first arc of the story has finally come to an end. Phew....What a ride it has been... *giggling and kicking my feets*

Seeing so many of you still here means more than I can really express.

Also, I would like to thank every single one of you for your patience and support, especially despite the slow update schedule. Hehehe... yes, I know and I am sorry.

Thank you for sticking around anyway.

Moving on, I promise that the releasing pace of this second arc will be much faster.

I hope you will all continue to ride this journey with me until the very end. Your comments, golden ticket, power stone and gifts will be highly appreciated. And whether you have been here from the very first Chapter or joined some where along the way, you are part of this story now, so thank you.

Also, please do not forget to leave a review if you really love the story, and add it to your library so you never miss an update. Those small actions help more than you know as they keep the story visible to others and give me the motivation to keep pushing forward.

Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for walking this journey with me.

Lots of love,

FavyPen