Grand Epic Elemental

Sunlight crept into the cave. Leiyu went out for a while and returned after hunting down some small animals. He started a fire outside and began roasting them. After the meat was done cooking, he stood at the cave’s entrance. Prince Thallios was still curled up under his cloak inside the cave, his back facing Leiyu.

“Your Highness?”

There was no response.

“Do you want anything to eat?”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“No…”

Leiyu had a concerned look on his face. Last night, it had taken Prince Thallios a long time to calm down from crying and finally fall asleep. He was probably still not feeling well.

“Your Highness, I’ll just leave some food next to you. You can eat it whenever you want.”

Leiyu placed some meat on a piece of cloth next to Prince Thallios. He then went outside to extinguish the fire. Sitting down on a rock, he began to eat his share of the food. There was a soft stirring from inside the cave and he turned to look back inside. The food he had placed in the cave was gone, and the prince resumed curling up on the ground. Feeling somewhat relieved, he continued eating.

Leiyu sat with his eyes closed in meditation inside the cave. Several hours had already passed since their meal. He heard another stirring and opened his eyes. Prince Thallios had finally sat up. His eyes were reddish and had dark circles underneath.

“Your Highness, how are you feeling?”

Prince Thallios looked at him. “Do you have any water?”

“Oh! Of course…here, Your Highness…” Leiyu took his flask out of his sleeve and handed it over.

Prince Thallios stared at him uneasily as he took the flask. “Did you just…take that out of your sleeve?” He was confused since the flask was shaped like a medium-sized gourd and did not look like it would fit into Leiyu’s thin sleeves.

“Ah yes, my sleeves can hold a lot of things. They have a magical storage space inside them. That’s why I don’t have to travel with any extra bags.”

“...” Prince Thallios held the flask in his hand, hesitating. Then he drank from it. “Thank you.” He handed it back. After a while, he stood up and headed to the entrance of the cave. Walking outside, he looked into the distance. “The Sword of Ages is in the mountains to the northeast.” Turning to Leiyu, he said, “We should get going…”

They rode through the wilderness for hours and eventually found a dirt road that cut through a hilly area. Dusk was settling and it was starting to get cold. In the distance, Leiyu could see a thin column of smoke curling in the air. Riding further ahead, they spotted a small inn.

“Your Highness, we could rest there for the night.”

They stopped in front of the inn, dismounted from their horses, and tied the reins to the wooden post in front of the entrance. As they approached the inn’s door, Leiyu turned and paused. He was staring at the ruby ornament on Prince Thallios’ head.

“Wait,” said Leiyu.

“Hm?”

“Forgive me, Your Highness,” Leiyu said as he reached over and pulled Prince Thallios’ hood over his head. “You should cover this up since it might attract too much attention.”

Prince Thallios gave him a look but said nothing. They entered the inn. No one was there other than the innkeeper at the back, who looked like he had just awakened from a nap.

“Welcome…” the innkeeper said lethargically. He looked at Prince Thallios. Although the prince was wearing a hood, his face was still visible.

“A woman? We don’t get those too often around here…” he remarked.

Prince Thallios’ eyes widened.

“Sir,” the innkeeper said to Leiyu, “this woman is…?”

“She’s…” Leiyu began.

The innkeeper continued staring at them.

“She’s…my wife,” said Leiyu.

Prince Thallios’ eyes became even wider and his cheeks flushed.

“Ah…forgive my rudeness,” said the innkeeper. “Will you be staying the night?”

“Yes,” Leiyu replied.

“All right. Here’s the key. First room upstairs. Kitchen is closed but here is some wrapped-up flatbread if you’re hungry.”

Leiyu held a candle lamp while Prince Thallios held the flatbread as they walked upstairs. They entered the room and Leiyu set down the candle lamp on a small table. He walked back to the door and locked it.

Prince Thallios glared at Leiyu. “I’m your wife?!”

“Ah, forgive me, Your Highness. The innkeeper already mistook you for a woman so I had to play along with it. Besides, better to let him think you are my wife rather than a…um, you know…”

Prince Thallios coughed and his face turned red. “Yes, I get the picture, no need to continue.” He sat down on the floor in a huff.

Ah, I hope he’s not too upset, Leiyu thought.

After regaining his composure, Prince Thallios unwrapped the flatbread and tore it in half. He offered one of the halves to Leiyu, who accepted it immediately. They both ate without saying a word.

Later that night, Prince Thallios peered at the moon through the window. “Leiyu?”

“Your Highness?”

“Will I really be hunted down?”

“...”

Prince Thallios pulled the curtain over the window. He walked over to sit down on the floor next to Leiyu.

“My father must have made a lot of enemies…”

“Your Highness, please do not worry. I swore to protect you no matter what.”

Prince Thallios smiled. “It’s getting late.” He looked over the room and his expression suddenly changed. “Oh…”

“Something wrong, Your Highness?”

“There is only one bed…”

“Oh! You can have it, Your Highness. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Prince Thallios turned to look at him.

“Thank you,” he finally said. He walked over to the bed, sat down, and removed his boots. He then removed his hair ornament and his long loose auburn hair cascaded downward.

Leiyu stared at him with a strange stirring feeling in his chest.

“Good night, Leiyu,” said Prince Thallios, pulling the blanket over himself as he lay down.

“Good night, Your Highness.” He blew out the candle and settled onto the floor.

The next morning, while still lying on the floor, Leiyu could hear faint galloping in the distance. His eyes shot open and he ran to the window, pulling the curtain aside. There was a cloud of dust on the horizon and he could discern a mass of soldiers on horseback.

Running to the bed, he whispered, “Your Highness, wake up!”

“Hm?” murmured Prince Thallios, opening his eyes.

“Your Highness, we must leave now! People are approaching!”

They descended the stairs in a hurry and Leiyu gave some gold coins to the innkeeper on their way out.

“Leaving so early? Hope you enjoyed your stay!” said the innkeeper.

“Thanks!” Leiyu replied.

Leiyu and Prince Thallios untied their horses from the wooden post outside the entrance, mounted them, and rode off into the distance.

Some time later, the soldiers arrived at the inn.

“We’re looking for members of the Ishkhandar royal family,” a soldier said to the innkeeper. “Have any travelers stopped by recently?”

“Just an Eastern-looking man and a local woman who was his wife,” the innkeeper replied. Then he added, “The wife was quite pretty.”

“All right, thank you,” said the soldier. He motioned to the others that they could continue down the road.

Leiyu and Prince Thallios were hiding on a nearby hilltop overlooking the inn.

“Hm, they really are sending people to look for you, Your Highness,” said Leiyu.

“You can hear them from here?”

“Mm yes, my hearing is quite sharp.”

Prince Thallios sighed. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

Leiyu grinned and turned to look at him. Prince Thallios’ hair was still loose since he did not have time to tie it up before they left. A gentle breeze blew and his hair strands danced around his face. Leiyu’s breathing quickened.

“We should go, Your Highness,” he said, trying not to get distracted.

They continued riding their horses into the wilderness.

Later that day, they stopped by a river. As a fish swam near the water’s surface, Leiyu reached in and grabbed it.

He started a fire and began to roast the fish. Hearing a tearing sound, he turned around and saw Prince Thallios use his dagger to cut a strip off his cloak. The prince then used the strip to tie up his hair in a loose bun.

“Your Highness?”

“Hm?”

“That hair ornament you were wearing yesterday…”

“Oh, don’t worry, I didn’t leave it at the inn. It’s in here.” Prince Thallios pointed to the small pouch strapped to his waist. “You said it would attract too much attention, so I won’t wear it anymore.”

“What about the jewel on your forehead?”

“Oh…this…was a gift from my mother before she passed away. I never take it off.”

Leiyu understood and did not comment further.

Leiyu and Prince Thallios sat and ate the roasted fish. The prince examined the dagger in his hand.

“Your Highness, that is an intricately crafted dagger.”

“Indeed. Want to see something interesting?”

Prince Thallios flicked his wrist and an extra blade rotated out from the existing dagger blade. It straightened itself so that the dagger now looked like a sword.

“Wow…” said Leiyu.

“And if you want to retract it, you just press this jewel here.”

Prince Thallios pressed the jewel on the hilt and the extra blade folded back in.

“My father gifted this to me on my eighteenth birthday.” Then his face turned solemn. He put the dagger back into its scabbard. “I used to wonder why he didn’t want me to leave the palace. Perhaps he didn’t want outsiders to know what I looked like since he was afraid people would come after me.”

Night fell and they found another cave to take shelter in. Leiyu sat in quiet meditation. Opening his eyes, he gazed upon Prince Thallios’ sleeping figure a short distance away. The prince was breathing softly and his face looked serene. Leiyu let his eyes linger for a bit before closing them again.

Morning came again and it was time to set off.

“Your Highness?”

“Hm?”

“Do we actually know which mountain in the northeast has the Sword of Ages?”

“I’m afraid not. The legends aren’t very specific about the location.”

“How did people in the past find it then?”

“Not sure.”

“Hmm…”

They traveled for weeks. Day in, day out, the routine was about the same. Leiyu would hunt or fish and they would chat briefly while eating. Prince Thallios began to look less morose, although there were many moments where he would stare silently into the distance. Leiyu left him alone during those times and turned to meditation.

The huge question looming in the air was what exactly they would do once they found the Sword of Ages. The legends were very vague on how past wielders of the sword used them to liberate their lands from invaders.

Is this something the prince will be able to handle? Leiyu wondered. Of course, he would assist in any way he could, but even then, it was just two people against entire armies.

As they traveled further through the wilderness, Leiyu could see the mountains getting closer. His mind began to drift.

Seven years ago…

Fifteen-year-old Leiyu sparred against his shixiong Jianyi. They exchanged a flurry of fists and spinning kicks. Shifu watched in the distance. The two teenagers continued fighting and leaping around the training grounds. Jianyi began to tire and slowed down. Seeing an opening, Leiyu spun his leg, tripping his opponent.

Jianyi lay on the ground, breathing heavily. “Shidi, I concede defeat. Your skills have improved so rapidly.”

Leiyu held out his hand and helped Jianyi stand back up. They noticed Shifu standing in the distance, lowered their heads, and cupped their fists in salutation.

“Shifu!” they greeted.

Shifu nodded, returned the salutation, and walked away.

Another disciple named Anying approached them and cupped his fist. “Jianyi-shixiong! Leiyu-shixiong!”

“Shidi, what brings you here?” asked Jianyi.

“Shixiong, you said we would visit the town today.”

“Ah yes, I did say that. Leiyu, do you want to come along?”

“Sure,” Leiyu replied.

The disciples lived in a sect compound, which was more of a refurbished house, on top of a hill in a wooded area. They descended the hill on a flight of stone steps that would lead them to town. Jianyi and Anying chatted with each other while Leiyu walked silently behind them.

Anying turned around. “Leiyu-shixiong?”

Leiyu did not hear him. He was staring at the mountains on the horizon, his mind lost in thought as usual.

“Leiyu-shixiong? What are you looking at? Leiyu-shixiong?”

“Leiyu?”

Leiyu’s mind snapped back to the present as he realized that Prince Thallios was trying to talk to him.

“Sorry, Your Highness. I was just thinking about something.”

Prince Thallios pointed straight ahead. Before them was the foot of a mountain. “I think we’re getting closer.”

Author’s Note

Leiyu’s sleeves with “magical storage space” is a reference to similar items found in Chinese fantasy stories.