"Are you sure?", Cale asked as he followed them up the stairs.

  The Eldest and he had decided to spend the night in Frignez and return home together the next day. After a long conversation with the leaders, Chief Clensen had gone home, while Chief Merensen showed the guests to their room. The Eldest had finally been given permission to learn something in their library, while Cale brought up the topic that had been on his mind since their arrival in Frignez.

  He wanted to learn healing skills, even if it wasn't much. If he could just heal wounds, that would be enough for him. He didn't want to watch someone die again when he could have helped them. His lack of knowledge and misplaced trust in his Igrikum had left Aaron at the mercy of others, and he didn't want to make that mistake again.

  "You know exactly where we're going. Could that be?", Chief Heriog asked, who was walking behind Cale. He had joined Chief Merensen and Cale when Ninett agreed to teach him the basics. Perhaps he was curious about how much a swordmaster really understood about magic and why the actual mage, the Eldest, didn't seem to be interested in it.

  "Well", Cale began hesitantly, holding his arm with one hand. He knew very well where they were going. It was one of those places that was forbidden to enter even during the war. One was more likely to be invited into the private chambers of the chiefs than to this place. "I suspect it is the sacred ground."

  "You truly know a lot", Chief Heriog replied skeptically. "Have you ever entered it?"

  "Never", Cale said honestly. "I am aware that outsiders are not allowed to enter this place, and when I asked you for this favor, I did not expect it to... go this far."

  "When you arrived this morning, I didn't expect you to already know pretty much all of our secrets", Chief Merensen replied, almost mockingly, stepping onto the last step and opening a heavy door carved directly into the stone.

  Cale sensed very few sources of mana scattered throughout the entire area. When he entered, he understood why that was the case. It was a single, enormous room with a small lake, perhaps two meters across, in the middle and huge windows that let in the evening light. Cale was completely confused as to where exactly they were, because he had never noticed a room with such large windows anywhere in Frignez. He knew they were in a small mountain, because they were a good distance from the capital and had climbed quite a few steps, but he hadn't expected this.

  He let his gaze wander over the almost empty space, where only small, flat tables and dozens of cushions were visible. In the distance, he spotted a young woman in healer's robes, kneeling on one of the cushions with her eyes closed, her hands formed into a circle as she concentrated intensely on letting mana flow through her body. In front of her on the table was only a small bowl of soil, which Cale found almost more fascinating than the woman herself. He could sense that the woman was sending some of her mana there, but he didn't understand why.

  "We didn't want to offend you, but in our opinion, it was best to disclose everything. Keeping secrets only leads to mistrust and poor communication, which we want to avoid at all costs."

  "Understandable", the second chief replied, leading the small group away from the people toward the large windows. This gave Cale his first chance to glance outside and notice that they were much higher up than he had assumed. Before them lay the true north, and Cale could see the split continent with the naked eye.

  "Unbelievable", he murmured, fixing his gaze on the ice-covered landscape surrounded by stormy waves. The only time he had been this far north was during a battle with Master Paseru.

  It was strange to know that healers might have been watching his fight back then without him noticing.

  "Rebellious and beautiful at the same time", Chief Heriog said, stopping next to Cale as he also let his gaze wander over the islands in the distance. "Have you ever been to the real north?"

  "Once, a long time ago."

  "So some of these craters could have been created by you?"

  "I doubt it, I lost that fight relatively quickly", Cale replied honestly, causing Chief Heriog to laugh softly.

  "I haven't gotten around to it yet, but your sword... if I'm not mistaken, it's Karekama."

  "That's right. It's not the first legendary sword you've seen, is it?"

  "Do you know...?"

  "I know that swordmaster Jonat Paseru is the current owner of Zurakekama, yes."

  "That hardly surprises me anymore. If I may ask, how did the sword come into your possession?"

  "The original swordmaster entrusted it to the Eldest, and the Eldest passed it on to me with the intention that I would guard it. I only use Karekama on very rare occasions."

  "Do you know who the original owner was?"

  Cale paused for a moment, without taking his eyes off the breathtaking view that stretched out below him. Lost in thought, he stood next to Chief Heriog while Chief Merensen reserved a small table for them. In reality, however, Cale was checking in with the Eldest who had remained in the capital.

  <"Damian. I have a quick question for you.">

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  <"Let's hear it.">

  <"The swordmaster who wielded Karekama before me, who was he?">

  <"His name was Nakken Torgersen. I hardly knew him, to be honest. He had joined my group for a few years, and when he was close to death, he asked me to find a worthy successor. Unfortunately, I don't know who he was or what he had done before that.">

  <"Do you think it would be okay to tell the chiefs about him? We started talking about the legendary swords.">

  <"I think you have better judgment than I do in this matter.">

  <"I... understand. Thank you">, Cale said somewhat hesitantly.

  "Yes", Cale confirmed quietly, so that Chief Heriog turned to him. "His name was Nakken Torgersen."

  "Nakken?", Ninett Merensen spoke up, causing Cale to turn around and start walking again. "Nakken Torgersen? Was that his name?"

  "That's how he introduced himself."

  "He gave it to the Eldest?"

  "We don't know his background, but according to the Eldest, he bequeathed it to him shortly before his death. However, there have been massive problems with it in recent years, which is why I currently own Karekama."

  "It's crazy to think that the sword was in the Magistrat's possession for all these decades", Chief Heriog muttered, appearing next to Cale at the table.

  "How much do you know about its past?"

  "Well...", Chief Heriog began, placing his weapon on the floor as well, sitting down next to Cale and looking at him with serious eyes. "... as you may have heard, the first owners of the legendary swords were the Paseru triplets."

  "I have heard that, yes."

  "Then you surely also know about the Great War in Tsuke. Linus Kama had forged these swords for the three leaders of the rebellion, the Paseru triplets. As far as I know, several years later, a conflict arose among the rebels themselves, resulting in Jegar Paseru being killed and his siblings coming here to Frignez, along with some of their followers. What happened to Mirajokama remains unclear to this day, but Zurakekama and Karekama were passed down to the descendants of the Paserus. About 100 years ago, however, the owners of Karekama faced a problem, as they had two sons and one daughter. The second eldest, Mirnall Paseru, received Zurakekama from the other part of the family, while the youngest daughter, Odette Paseru, received Karekama. However, the eldest of the three siblings, Nakken Paseru, was left empty-handed and resisted the decision of the swordmasters. All we later learned was that he had somehow come into possession of the sword and gone into hiding. "

  "He stole it?"

  "According to Jonat Paseru, he murdered his sister and took possession of it that way, which is why Karekama has an unpleasant reputation here with us."

  "I... I wasn't aware of that", Cale confessed in surprise, looking down at his hands. He wondered how Miguel must have felt when he saw Karekama back then. He had known from the beginning that Cale carried Karekama with him and had also been surprised when Cale entrusted it to him. Cale had not expected in the slightest that this weapon had divided a family. "I never met Nakken Torgersen, or Nakken Paseru, in person."

  "We don't blame you. But when you presented Karekama without warning this morning, it was as if you were... mocking us."

  "By the beard of the Eldest, that was not my intention!", Cale admitted in a panic, but in a subdued voice. "Forgive me if my action was rude. I just didn't want to hide weapons because I felt it was disrespectful. If I had known about the history of this weapon, I would have... approached it differently."

  "It's all right, we realized that. Even though it was a little strange at first. Since you seem very knowledgeable about our customs and the Eldest had also acted according to your reactions, I just thought it was intentional", explained Chief Heriog with a smile that suddenly made Cale uncomfortable.

  The whole conversation could have taken a completely different turn if they hadn't been honest from the start. If they had taken Cale's behavior as an insult or even a threat, who knows what the future would have looked like. Goosebumps ran down his spine as his eyes darted back and forth between the two large men.

  It was thanks to them that his mistake had not escalated.

  "I apologize and thank you for listening to us anyway."

  "It's all right. It's nice to finally know what happened to the sword, since it was considered lost for the last century."

  With a relieved nod, he thanked the leaders and allowed himself to relax a little. The last few minutes had been more stressful than the entire conversation they had had today.

  "If I may ask, where is swordmaster Jonat Paseru currently?", Cale finally spoke up, directing his attention directly to Chief Heriog.

  "Good question. Since he has no family of his own, he set out a few months ago to find a successor for Zurakekama. I believe he is currently in the province of Mornet in Sylve."

  "Mornet?", Cale repeated, somewhat taken aback. He was aware that Chief Heriog and his master knew each other, and he knew that his brother was the current Duke of Mornet, but why was he in Sylve now? And if Master Paseru was in Mornet, had he also met Jarle? "The world is quite small."

  "In what way?"

  "Jarle of Mornet is an acquaintance of mine."

  "Really?", the chiefs said in unison.

  "Yes. I'm currently working in Sylve, and he's one of my group members. However, he doesn't know that I lead Karekama or what my relationship with the Magistrat is."

  "I see. So you want to keep it a secret, am I right?", Chief Heriog replied, to which Cale nodded in agreement.

  "I would appreciate that. It would cause me great problems if this became public knowledge. Only the king's closest advisors and King Leonhardt of Sylve are aware that I lead Karekama. Apart from the High-Magicians, of course."

  "Understandable. You are as cautious with this information as Jonat. He also avoids letting people know about Zurakekama."

  "I think that's how all of us feel. Leading one of the three swords comes with a tremendous amount of responsibility, and you inevitably put your loved ones in danger."

  "That's one of the reasons Jonat never started a family of his own. And that's also why I was so surprised that you have a daughter", Chief Merensen said as he took out a small box from under the table containing several mana crystals. Cale knew that the statement was only partially true, but he didn't pursue it further. Instead, he looked at the table as Chief Heriog spoke up. " I have one more question, if I may."

  "Of course, go ahead."

  "You mentioned that you are in contact with the... dragons", he began, his voice becoming very quiet as he said the last part. "What exactly did you mean by that?"

  "Well, I talk to them regularly and we exchange information as we try to develop a plan for dealing with the Thormods. "

  "So you've seen them in person?"

  "Absolutely, yes. I visited the Holy Island and yes, I also spoke with the queen herself", Cale explained quietly, but he doubted anyone could hear them. They were sitting far too far away from the nearest person, and since the chiefs were speaking without hesitation, he did the same.

  "Impressive. Weren't you afraid?"

  "I was scared to death. Believe me, I avoided the island for years, and even after I learned the truth, I was incredibly cautious. But I became quite good friends with some dragons, which took away my worries. They are quite similar to us, even if they sometimes have somewhat strange and radical views."

  "It almost makes you jealous", Chief Merensen said, prompting Cale to clear his throat with amusement. Dragons may be incredibly powerful creatures and exude a certain dominance, but for those who knew what they were really like, they were truly fascinating personalities.