The sun had completely set by the time Raven walked into the tarven. He had forgotten to ask Gian to specify which of the three tarvens in town they would be at but he didn't need to, he realized pretty quickly that all he had to do was follow the direction that caused his power to buzz deliciously below the surface of his skin and he would find the three men.
When he walked in, he quickly spotted Vermilion and Ivory. The two had a presence to them that called for attention. Even now, in a full room of people who chatted and laughed loudly, they were the ones who drew his attention first. Not only was their hair color different than the usual browns and blondes but they practically glowed with power, their auras were strong. The fact that they were absolutely gorgeous was an added bonus. Raven had never met anyone like them and he quickly realized these two would bring nothing but new experiences to him.
The brothers' eyes were already glued onto him the moment he walked through the door, almost as if they could sense him coming. Gian on the other hand only seemed to notice him when he walked up to their table.
"Raven, good you made it," Gian said smiling at him. Raven could tell that the beer had started to go to his head, which made him wonder how many drinks the other man had taken before he joined them.
"Please, take a sit," Ivory offered and Raven wasted no time in taking the last chair beside Gian and directly opposite Vermilion. The redhead had what Raven had concluded was his normal blank expression on his face, he didn't say much of anything and he didn't seem to laugh at the jokes Gian made but his lips curled a little in amusement when his brother did. Raven tried not to focus on that right now, it was weird how very aware he was of everything this man did in his presence, that was also new.
"So gentlemen, what made The Chosen themselves travel all the way out here just to talk to me?" Raven asked.
"There's a long version and a short version, which one do you want to hear?" Ivory asked, an ever present smile lighting his features. Raven had to hold in an eye roll as he noted that his teeth were perfect and pearly white. Perks of being heroes, everything about them outwardly is perfect; he thought.
"The short version, please," he returned Ivory's smile though he was sure it wasn't as stunning as the latter's. He noticed Vermilion eye him for a split second before picking up his mug and sipping some beer.
"Okay then," Ivory laughed and that drew Raven's eyes away from the redhead, he wondered how someone could laugh so melodically but then he added it to the list of perks of being The Chosen. "The king ordered us to come out here, find you and take you back to the capital because surprise, you're the third Chosen," Ivory did jazz hands and his smile never faltered.
Raven was stunned into silence, not processing what he had heard because he surely mustn't have heard that right. Him? Chosen? That made no sense in the least. He wasn't from a prestigious bloodline, not that he knew much about his heritage anyway. His mouth hung open and his eyes were blown wide as he looked between the brothers to see if they would crack and tell him they were joking while laughing their heads off but they didn't. Ivory stayed watching him, waiting for a reaction while Vermilion facepalmed while telling his brother he was an idiot and should have handled that better.
"Gian?" Raven turned to his friend beside him but the man looked just as surprised as he felt.
"Uh- congratulations?" He moreso asked than stated.
"You aren't joking?" Ivory shook his head 'no' and Raven gulped before taking a shaky breath. "Can I have the long version? This makes no sense at all."
"Sure," Ivory said, his smile still present, " you know the story about the Evil Essence, yes? Almost 5000 years ago, our ancestors 'The Great Protectors' fought against it. It was a manifestation of the negative emotions that people felt during that time, it was a time of war after all. I don't know if you know this but the magic each person possesses in this world is an evolved part of our souls, Vermilion can give you the full lecture on that, anyway, because our magic is part of our souls, it reacts to the emotions we feel and that seeps out of us as magical essence. At the time, all the anger, hate, frustration, sadness, of the people accumulated and fused together to form the Evil Essence. Our forefathers banded together to fight it and they managed to split it up into three and seal these parts separately in magical orbs. The orbs have been kept in separate locations since then- the orb containing it's 'core', has been kept in the tomb of Liberala, just north of the capital. The seal on that orb has weakened considerably over time and it's on the verge of breaking, the Chief Seer of the tomb has given it a maximum of 10 years before it finally gives in. That's to say it can break free any moment between now and the five-thousand year mark.
"That would mean the Evil Essence will break free in our time as The Chosen, meaning were going to be the second generation of Great Protectors. You must already know this but the chosen come from the line of the Three Great Protectors, that means that one of them is an ancestor of yours, that's why you're Chosen. Descendants of the Great Protectors, those of us who are Chosen, have great magical essence, I'm talking on par with them. That is why it is essential to gather all of us and have us train to our full potentials before that time comes. Because we're the only ones who stand a chance at fighting it and actually winning."
Processing.
Raven was processing all that Ivory had told him. Some things weren't new information but thinking about the legends and then adding himself to that same equation was unimaginable to him. He understood what Ivory had said, understood what was being asked of him, but could he really just drop the life he had built for himself in Galoria to start a new in the capital? Could he really leave behind the life of a warrior and go on to play heroes with people he didn't know in a castle somewhere? That didn't sound like something he would enjoy at all. After slaying that dragon, he was finally going to move up from A to S rank, was he expected to just forget he was an adventurer now? Would the guild take away his card? And most importantly, would the King get him executed if he refused his summon?
There were too many questions flying through Raven's mind. He had lived in this kingdom for almost a year now but he was still a foreigner from elsewhere, did he have the freedom to make his own decisions? Could he say no to the king of the land that had housed him when his own had exiled him? He doubted he could. He had to say something, to give some sort of responses
"I- I don't kno-" he begun but Ivory cut him off.
"Look, I know this is a lot to suddenly lay on you and I really should have eased you into it but please just consider it. You can't deny the serge of power you get around us, I know you can't because we feel it too. That's what happens when all three Chosen have been united. I know it's a lot were asking but for the sake of the world, please think it over carefully."
"Raven," Gian placed his palm on the man's shoulder, "friend, listen, I've known you for a while now and I bet I know what you're thinking right now. You're trying to figure out how to deny the King, yes? I really don't think that's the smartest choice. I know how much you love adventuring but you need to go to the capital. You've lived in this kingdom long enough to know just how big of a deal the chosen are. The fact that the Evil Essence is about to break free means countless people's lives are in danger, if you refuse to go with them, it'll spell doom for the rest of us. I'm proud of you, for everything you've done and for what I know you'll continue to accomplish. I know this is just my personal opinion and you don't have to listen if you don't want to but I think you should go."
Even though his cheeks were clearly flushed from the alcohol, Gian was making a lot of sense and Raven had depended on the man many other times before for advise and he had never steered him down the wrong path.
"Thanks for that, my brain was going on a tangent," Raven chuckled slightly placing his hand over Gian's that was still on his shoulder and giving it a little squeeze. Raven felt a hard gaze staring at that action, and in his peripheral he could see it was Vermilion. He wondered why the man's hard gaze was set on his hand above Gian's but he didn't want to read too much into it and so he brushed it off.
"No worries bud, I'm always here to dish out some wisdom if you need me," Gian said puffing out his chest in pride which made Raven laugh. He felt light again, the weight of the world that had been crushing him just mere moments ago was lifted and he had Gian to thank for that.
"Of course, oh great sage," Raven teased as he ordered himself a beer. After the type of day he had, he needed one, or ten, badly.
"We'll be leaving tomorrow at first light, if you're coming with meet us just outside the village," Vermilion spoke to him for the first time but he still didn't face him. His face remained emotionless while his tone stayed flat. Raven noticed the slight tick in his jaw though he thought he might be seeing things because why would the stoic man be upset with him?
Vermilion wasted no time in standing up and leaving, not even sparing a glance at his brother.
"I'm sorry, he gets like that when he is tired," Ivory said sheepishly still staring at the door his brother left through, "anyway, Gian, thank you very much. You've been a big help and Raven, I hope to see you tomorrow."
With that the silver-haired man ran after his brother. And again as they left, a cold and powerless feeling gripped Raven and he realized, he might not like being away from them ever again after experiencing what it's like to be near them.