--donation bonus (day #26, post 3/5)--
‘Try not to sound so disappointed,’ said Hector.
‘I am, though. I was preparing to cheer you up with a light-hearted story. Or maybe I could’ve gone for a moment of emotional support, and then we would’ve grown closer than ever before.’
‘What a shame.’
‘Tch. It could’ve been great.’
‘Anyway, uh. I’ve been meaning to ask, uh. Do you know anything about this Harper person that Roman mentioned?’
‘The name does ring a bell,’ said Garovel. ‘I remember hearing it in passing when I was with the Vanguard. It belonged to a rookie back then, but if it’s really the same guy, then I imagine he must be pretty strong by now.’
‘How long ago was that? Er, I mean, when did you leave the Vanguard?’
‘Twenty-ish years ago, I think.’
‘You think? I thought you had a really good memory.’
‘Memorization requires that one be paying attention. The passage of time is kind of a blur to me, these days. I stopped keeping track a long time ago.’
‘Hmm. So, uh... why’d you leave the Vanguard, anyway?’
‘Well, my servant had just decided that he was ready to die, so after I released him, I was on my own again. And before him, I’d had many other servants as well, and we were always fighting. And y’know, after a while, that takes a toll on you. I suppose you could say I was tired. Not physically, of course. I just wanted to take a break from it all.’
‘Really? Even though, um... I mean, I assume Abolish was a problem back then, too, right?’
‘Yes, they were,’ said Garovel. ‘But that’s the thing. The fighting doesn’t end, Hector. Abolish and the Vanguard have been going at it for fucking ages. There’s essentially no hope that the war will end anytime soon.’
‘Geez...’
‘And even being immortal, you can’t just keep fighting forever and ever. It wears you down. You have to take time for yourself sooner or later.’
Hector had no trouble understanding that. He could only imagine what kinds of terrible things Garovel had seen. He didn’t want to ask about that right now, though, so he asked something else. ‘So, um... am I the first servant you’ve had since leaving?’
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
And now, we have another Hector and Garovel bonding moment.
ReplyDeleteI love the dynamic between these two. X3
<3
ReplyDeleteHuh? 20
ReplyDelete20 years is enough time to go from being a rookie to being a lieutenant-general? That's surprising.
ReplyDelete"Try not sound[ing] so disappointed."
ReplyDeleteFixed. Thanks for the catch.
ReplyDeleteRemember that rate of groth can vary.
ReplyDeleteHah, I barely pay attention to the passage of time now, and I'm pretty young still. If I was thousands of years old like Garovel, I can only imagine my answer would have been something like "Uh, in the last century? Probably."
ReplyDeletethat one being paying attention
ReplyDeletethat one be paying
Got it, thank you.
ReplyDeleteWait...it's been 20 or so years since Garovel left Vanguard? What? Wasn't Geoffrey 19? So that confirms that the knowledge of aberrations was around LONG before Vanguard found out
ReplyDeleteLoved the bonding moment between the MCs. Will always love it