The road to Eldermire felt shorter than Renn remembered.
Or perhaps… he had simply changed.
The wind carried the scent of soil and harvest, the same scent that once clung to his clothes after long days under the sun. The fields stretched wide and golden under the morning light, farmers already at work, their silhouettes bending and rising in a rhythm he knew by heart.
Once, he had been part of that rhythm.
Now—
Steel rested at his side. Gold traced the edges of his uniform. And the faint, controlled hum of Aether moved beneath his skin like a restrained storm.
Renn Valehart had returned. Not as a boy of the fields, but as a Royal Knight.
Word traveled faster than footsteps. By the time Renn reached the village entrance, Eldermire was already gathering. Farmers wiped sweat from their brows, leaving tools behind. Women stepped out from their homes, hands still dusted with flour. Children ran barefoot across the dirt paths, eyes wide with excitement.
"Renn's back!"
"He really made it—!"
"A Royal Knight… from Eldermire…"
The murmurs swelled into cheers. Renn stopped just short of the crowd, his expression caught somewhere between stillness and disbelief. He hadn't expected this. Didn't think he deserved it.
A familiar voice broke through the noise.
"Ohh! You finally decided to come back, huh?"
Old Tarren—the farmer whose fields Renn used to help till—pushed his way forward, his laugh loud and unrestrained.
"You used to wake up early to help me in the fields, and now look at you—wearing gold like some noble hero!"
A ripple of laughter spread through the crowd.
Another voice chimed in.
"Wasn't he the one who said he'd never join the Royal Knights?"
"That's right!" someone added. "Said it was 'too troublesome!'"
Renn exhaled, a faint smile finally breaking through.
"…I still think it is."
The crowd laughed louder this time. Familiar. Warm. Real.
Small figures pushed their way forward next. The children. The same ones who used to chase him down dirt paths, challenge him to races, and beg him to tell exaggerated stories about the outside world. Only now, they looked at him differently.
Not as "Renn." But as something more.
"Is it true?" one boy asked, eyes shining. "You fought in the ceremony?"
"Did you use Aether like the stories?"
"Are you strong now?!"
Renn crouched slightly, meeting their gaze. There was a pause. Then—
"… Yeah, do you wanna see my powers?."
"… Lumindelle."
Lumindelle shows up out of the blue. His cat ears twitched.
"Oh, now you remember my name,"
Lumindelle said, narrowing its glowing eyes.
"You summon me without warning, without preparation, without even the courtesy of intent—"
It paused. Its gaze shifted slowly toward the children. A dozen wide-eyed stares met it, unblinking. Amazed.
"…It's a cat…"
"It's glowing!"
"IT TALKS—!"
The reaction hit all at once.
"Well."
The word came smoother this time. Less sharp. More deliberate.
"If that is the case…"
"I am Lumindelle," it continued, lifting its head slightly, voice carrying a quiet authority that didn't match its size. "A manifestation of refined Aether..."
Renn snapped his finger and Lumindelle was gone. "…Yeah yeah, I get it."
" Hey, lemme finish talking..." Lumindelle got mad.
The children were completely captivated.
"That's so cool…"
They didn't believe him first but now they are truly impressed. To them, the gold on his uniform wasn't just decoration—it was proof. Proof that someone from Eldermire could become something greater.
"I'm gonna be a Royal Knight too!" one of them declared.
"Me too!"
"I'll be stronger than you!"
Renn let out a quiet breath, something softer than laughter.
"…Then I'll be waiting."
The moment shifted when the sound of metal moved through the air.
A sharp, unified step. The crowd parted almost instinctively this time, not out of excitement—but respect.
A small unit approached from the inner post of the village, their movements precise, measured, and disciplined. Their armor was simpler than Renn's, lacking the intricate gold lining or symbolic engravings. Practical. Durable. Made for endurance rather than distinction.
The Royal Guards.
They stopped a few paces before him.
The difference between them was immediate—clear, even without words.
Royal Guards were the shield of the kingdom.
They were recruited from capable men and women, trained to maintain order, to protect villages like Eldermire, to stand their ground against threats that most would never face. Their use of Aether was present, but limited—basic reinforcement, minor enhancements, enough to support their duty but never to define it.
Royal Knights were something else entirely.
They were not recruited. They were chosen. Forged through trial, tested beyond physical limits, and awakened to a deeper connection with Aether itself. Where guards used Aether as a tool, Knights wielded it as an extension of their being—refined, dangerous, and far beyond ordinary control.
It wasn't just a difference in strength. It was a difference in nature.
The captain of the guards stepped forward, his posture straight, his expression firm.
"Sir Renn Valehart."
The title hung in the air.
Then, in perfect unison, the guards raised their fists to their chests and saluted. A clean, practiced motion.
Renn stood still for a moment, the weight of that recognition settling quietly over him. Not pride.
Then he returned the salute.
A figure pushed through with urgency, brushing past shoulders, ignoring the space others tried to give.
"Elira—wait—!"
But she didn't stop. Didn't slow. Didn't hesitate.
"Renn!" Her voice cut through everything.
Renn turned—
And the stillness he had carried since arriving shattered. Lady Elira reached him, her steps uneven, her breath unsteady as her hands found him, gripping his arms as if anchoring herself to something real.
Her eyes moved over him quickly—his face, his shoulders, the armor, the weapons—
"You're safe…"
The words came out softer than anything else around them. Renn's voice dropped, quieter than it had been all day.
"…I'm here."
For a moment, nothing else existed. Just a mother and her son, standing where they had always belonged.
"You really became a Royal Knight…" Elira said softly, her gaze lingering on the gold lining of his armor.
"…I want to be strong to protect you, mother."
She gave him a small look, one that hadn't changed since he was a child. Renn hugged his mother tightly..
Evening settled gently over Eldermire.
The laughter from earlier had faded into distance, replaced by the quiet rhythm of a village returning to its own heartbeat. Lanterns flickered to life one by one, warm lights scattered across wooden homes and dirt paths like fallen stars refusing to fade.
Renn sat beside his mother outside their home. The same place they had always sat.
The wind moved slowly through the fields ahead, brushing through tall grass that bent and rose like breathing waves. Somewhere in the distance, children's voices still echoed faintly—unaware of how fragile time truly was.
Elira looked at him for a long while.
"You've grown," she said softly.
Renn exhaled.
Her gaze lingered on him—the armor, the presence, the weight he carried even when he tried to hide it.
Then she said something that made him pause.
"You don't belong here anymore."
Renn's eyes shifted slightly.
"I do."
Elira shook her head gently.
"No," she corrected, voice calm. "You come from here. That's different."
Silence followed. A heavier kind. Renn looked away first.
"…Come with me."
The words were quieter than any command he had ever given. But they carried something deeper.
"The capital is safer," he continued. "I can make sure you don't have to worry about anything anymore."
Then Elira smiled faintly, almost as if she already knew that answer long before he spoke it.
"This village may not be safe in the way you think safety should be," she said gently. "But it is where I lived."
Her hand rested lightly on the wooden step beneath them.
"It is where I laughed… where I struggled… where I raised you." Her eyes softened. "And I was happy."
Renn's chest tightened.
She continued, quieter now. "If my end comes… I want Eldermire to be where I rest."
That sentence stayed in the air longer than the wind.
Renn didn't speak.
He only moved closer and embraced her. She felt smaller than he remembered. Frail, but still warm.
The hill overlooked all of Eldermire.
It always had.
As a child, Renn used to climb it to see everything the Eldermire has to offer. Now he stood before the grave, newly turned earth resting beneath a sky that did not change for anyone. He remembered the last conversation he had with his mother.
"Renn..."
He leaned forward immediately.
"You've become strong." A pause... "Use that strength… to protect others... Especially what matters to you."
Renn's grip tightened without realizing it. The words lingered. Not as advice, but as something heavier. A responsibility. A promise she was placing into him.
Her voice softened further.
"You are a kind child."
A faint, tired smile formed on her lips. "Don't lose that."
The lantern flickered once. Her hand remained on his. Warm. Fading.
"…I will always be by your side."....
He stood at its peak, the wind moving steadily through the grass around him.
The villagers had come. They stood behind him in silence. No loud mourning, no breaking cries. Just presence. Respect. Understanding.
One by one, they began to leave. Their footsteps softened into the distance. Their voices faded. Until—
Only Renn remained.
Silence pressed against everything.
A memory surfaced.
"…Especially what matters to you."
He lowered his head slightly. The wind passed through the hill, brushing against him like something unseen acknowledging his silence.
Renn closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the hesitation was gone.
"…I promise."
Renn turned away from the hill and did not look back.