Valerian, The Legendary

Chapter 3: Awakening.

Valerian did not wait for long before Diligentia returned to the library. The lady had a complex expression painted on her face. However, the young boy in front of her was too ignorant to discern it.

He raised his head as he gobbled up the last morsel to look at the lady. Diligentia matched his gaze and after a few seconds, she steeled her resolve and said, “The night I found you, there were two things wrapped within your swaddling cloth. One was a pendant and the other was a letter, along with a note to give you these two things when you reach the age of seven.”

Valerian heard her words and his little frame trembled. He was overwhelmed with a lot of emotions, anxiety, fear, curiosity, and excitement. He always wanted to know about the identity of his parents. Today, he might get answers to his questions.

She took a deep breath and said, “Today, you are old enough to have these back. Here, take them.”

Diligentia extended her hand, holding a letter for the boy to take. With his shivering little hands the boy took the letter, Diligentia held out her other hand, it had a stone pendant tied to a red shiny thread. She asked, “Do you want me to put it on around your neck?”

Valerian shook his head and took the pendant in his hand. He weaved a few signs and said, ‘I would like to hold it for a bit.’

Diligentia understood that it was his way to deal with this situation. Valerian moved his silver eyes to gaze at the pendant in his palm. It was a small red stone that looked like an egg encased in silver weaving. Valerian could see the little details on the stone, it was as if scales were carved on it.

.....

After gazing at the pendant for a few minutes, the boy put it on the table and opened the letter. Diligentia had not opened the letter to see the content. The winds of time have made the paper turn crisp and slightly yellow. Valerian was very careful while undoing the seal on the mouth of the envelope. His small fingers gently pulled out the letter. Unfolding the letter he read,

‘My dear Valerian, when you get this letter, your parents would have left the world for a long time. If you grew up hating us, then we will understand it, after all, we did leave you alone. I have a lot of things to say, but let me sum it up with an apology and I love you.

I know you have a lot of questions, but let me answer a few of them for you, my name is Flos. I am your mother. Your father is called Divinus. I am a Battle Mage, while your father was a Mage. Your full name is Valerian Divinus Magnus. Although you know your name, keep it a secret, until the day you are strong enough to defy the world.

When you are strong enough, go find Saintess Misericordia of the temple of Mercy. She will tell you our story. My love, your parents never wished for any of this to happen. I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive us. We will love you even in our deaths.

I hope that you grow strong, gentle, and kind. However, do not let people fool you, never put your trust in anyone blindly, and always be prepared for a betrayal. You must not repeat the mistake of your parents. I can never tell you how much I love you, it is time to say goodbye to you, my treasure. Mum loves you the most, baby.’

Valerian could see the paper stained with tears in some places. At this moment he felt as if his heart was being shredded apart by the garden shears. He clenched his fists trying to stop them from shivering.

Do not judge him for his age or weak physique, growing up between bullies forced him to grow earlier, to use his brain more than a child of his age should. Since his mother mentioned that to unveil the mysteries behind the death of his parents he must become strong, then strong he will be.

Diligentia asked, “Val, is everything all right?”

Valerian gave her some signs and said, ‘You should go to bed. It was a busy day, I would like to sleep as well.’

As someone who has taken care of him since he was not even able to sit on his own, Diligentia was aware that the child was trying to make her go away and hide his pain. She respected his decision and believed that a child should be given their own room to adjust according to the situation.

She nodded, and said, “Good night, I will see you tomorrow. Okay.”

Valerian nodded and stood up from the chair. He saw the lady leave the library before closing the door from the inside. He could see that Diligentia was worried about him but at this moment, he did not have it in himself to reassure her.

He turned around, picked up the pendant, and put it around his neck, while holding the letter in his hand, Valerian drifted into the slumberland.

...

“Oh, so you are finally here?”

Valerian heard a pleasant voice in his ears. He was standing in some unknown space, except for a few feet around him, everything was shrouded with darkness. He kept looking around and the voice sounded again.

“Are you thinking about who I am and where am I talking from?”

Subconsciously Valerian nodded his small head, and the voice said, “You will find out in the future, at this moment our bond is not strong enough to communicate with thoughts, you will have to work a lot harder than you can imagine in order to get to see me.”

Valerian wanted to weave signs but he did not know if the other person could understand him or not. So he just stood there. The voice sounded again, “Today, you will have the first glimpse at the new world.”

A gust of wind blew, enveloping Valerian. Scared of the sudden change, he closed his eyes. Then he heard the voice again, “Happy birthday, Valerian.”

After the words were finished, Valerian sensed his body being gently pushed away by the gust around his body.

...

While Valerian was enveloped by the gust around him, his body under the library was glowing with soft colorful light. If others were to see this, they would be shocked, one of the things they would be shocked at was the source of these lights, it came from within the child himself.

The glow slowly strengthened, in the dark night, the shimmering lights inside the library were standing out like a sour thumb. This glow did not alert the people of the orphanage, but the animals in the surroundings all seemed to be aware of the changes.

A scurry of squirrels was looking at the window of the library and they were constantly making noises before they all did something not very squirrel-ish, they prostrated in submission to the window, or to the source of the multicolored glow.

In the sky, the two moons seemed to be glowing slightly brighter than usual.

...

Inside a dark room, a man wearing crimson armor was gazing at the sky through the window. One could only see the crimson pupil of this man peeking through the space in the helmet. He mumbled after looking at the moons, “Lapis, eradicate the obstacles, I want the Asura Sword in my hands.”

A woman was standing behind the man, shrouded with shadows, making her figure blurred. She nodded and said, “Yes, your majesty. May Gladius Rule Forever.”

The man in the armor did not react, he sensed the lady leaving his side, and mumbled, “Dragon God, you sure are a kind entity.”

He turned his right arm so that his palm was facing the ceiling and on the forearm of his armor showed a set of embedded crystals. After looking at these crystals the man said, “This is the last thing that you left me, old friend. If you were to know that the thing you invented for the welfare of the people has become the reason for their plight. What would you do?”

As the man talked to himself a spark of madness flickered in his eyes. He burst out in maniacal laughter at the end. The set of crystals was the device used to detect the objects blessed by the dragon god. This instrument has been the reason why the powerful people waged wars. This set of crystals was the trigger that awakened the greed hidden deep inside those who sat on their gilded thrones, while their tools paint the world red with blood.

...

The night passed away, Valerian was awakened by the flooding sunlight, but he could not react for a few minutes when he saw the sight in front of him.