Galen didn’t immediately open up to Aleksi when they met for the day. The matter weighed on him heavily. So much so that his tutor could tell he wasn’t completely focused on today’s training.

  After sending him to the ground for the umpteenth time, his mentor sighed, “Let’s take a break, lad.”

  “I’m fine,” Galen groaned as he tried and failed to get up, “I can keep going.”

  “Perhaps. But I can tell your heart isn’t in it today. Come, let’s take a break.”

  His mentor helped him get on his feet, and the two of them sat on a bench in the nearby resting area.

  “So, lad. What’s troubling you?”

  Galen knew he had to tread carefully. Given past experience with Aleksi taking precautions when it came to sensitive matters, he’d long since figured there were unseen eyes and ears around him.

  With this in mind, he started with a half truth, “Well. I guess I’m just frustrated by my slow progress.”

  Aleksi chuckled, “What? Is that it?”

  His mentor shook his head in disbelief, “Lad, let me put your fears to rest. Your progress has been anything but slow.”

  “Wait… what?”

  He hadn’t been expecting that.

  “You heard me,” Aleksi snorted another laugh, “slow progress, he says. Although… no, I suppose it isn’t fair to find that so amusing. You don’t really have the necessary perspective on such things.”

  Galen waited for his mentor to elaborate, which he did, “Lad, I didn’t want to say this because I was worried it’d go to your head, but you’ve been progressing with Ether at a very rapid rate.”

  “I have?”

  “Quite. It’s quite frightening, to be honest. The history books mention how quickly the First Champion grew in power. We weren’t sure if you’d have the same rate of growth, but after seeing your progress the past month... Well, I think I can say for certain that your latent potential is certainly worthy of the title of Champion.”

  Galen had a hard time believing that, “Can you put my progress into perspective for me? How does my growth so far compare to others?”

  Aleksi stroked his chin as he spent some time thinking about the answer. Finally, he said, “You’ve got the hang of using Ether to empower yourself without fail within a few days.”

  His mentor looked him square in the eye as he added, “I’ve known people for whom it took at least a month to get to that point. And those are the more talented ones. On average, it takes two to three months.”

  Galen’s jaw dropped.

  Aleksi wasn’t finished, however, “While you still have much room to improve in this regard, it took you a week and a half to speed up your empowerment to my admittedly strict standard of satisfaction. For the average Etherean? Half a year. At least.”

  Aleksi shook his head, “It’d be no exaggeration to call you a prodigy, lad. Something I find rather strange given your body’s intolerance to Ether. Why, you’re a walking oxymoron. Despite the fact that you came from a world without any powers like our own, your connection to Ether is extraordinary.”

  “Me? A prodigy? ME?”

  He’d always considered himself a hard worker, and though he’d had a talent for languages, he never once thought of himself as a prodigy. Nor had he ever been called one.

  For Aleksi of all people to call him that, and in regards to Ether of all things…

  Galen had to admit that it felt good to know he had talent in an area he was very interested in.

  “Don’t get a big head, now, lad,” Aleksi warned, “I meant what I said when I called you a prodigy. But remember that those that work hard will always best the talented when those with talent fail to work hard.”

  Galen snorted a laugh at those words.

  “Oh, you find that funny, lad?” though playful, there was a dangerous edge to Aleksi’s words.

  Galen was quick to clarify, “No, no! They’re wise words. I laughed because what you just said was a quote from a famous sports player from my world.”

  “Really?” Aleksi raised a brow.

  “Well, you worded it a bit differently, but it was basically the same thing. I didn’t expect to hear that here, is all.”

  “It’s sound advice. And it seems to be the case regardless of world,” Aleksi smiled.

  “Very much so,” Galen agreed.

  Not wanting to put off his true concerns any longer, he leaned forward, and made sure to speak quietly and in English, “There’s something more pressing that’s been bugging me. Something serious. We need to speak. Privately.”

  Aleksi, to his credit, didn’t show any visible reaction. He kept his expression neutral as he responded back in the same tongue, “I figured there was something else weighing on you. Very well, I’m always willing to lend you an ear, lad.”

  Galen kept his own expression neutral, though he smiled in his mind. He asked his tutor, “When and where can we speak about this?”

  Aleksi thought for a moment before answering, “I know a place. Come to the courtyard where I first taught you about Ether this afternoon. I’ll meet you there and lead you somewhere we can talk privately.”

  “Thank you,” Galen said.

  And he meant it.

  Aleksi merely smiled warmly in response.

  The two returned to their training, and this time, Galen was able to put his full focus and effort into it.

  ***

  Hours later, Galen felt apprehensive as he walked through the halls of Ignis’s castle. He tried to look normal and nonchalant as he strode. Despite his pounding heart, he did his best to keep his expression neutral and calm.

  Redian, he called out to his sword, keep an eye out for anyone following me, alright? If you detect someone, let me know.

  “Sure can do, boss. As a matter of fact, there’s one person tailing you as we speak!”

  What?! his heart dropped, and he had to stop himself from turning to look.

  “Uh, you didn’t know, boss?” Redian asked with confusion, “ever since you became my Wielder, I’ve noticed that there’s always at least one person following you and keeping an eye on you. Sometimes two. Oh, and don’t bother trying to look for them. They’re real sneaky from what I can tell. They’re not gonna be somewhere where you can see them with the naked eye.”

  Galen was silent as he walked.

  “Boss?” Redian called out in his mind, “hello? You in there? Booooooosss? Hellooooo-”

  WHY DIDN’T YOU EVER TELL ME THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING ME AROUND?!?!

  “I thought you knew!” the Sentient Weapon said defensively, “honestly, it should have been obvious the Dominion would keep an eye on you, given, you know… that teeny, tiny fact that YOU’RE THE CHAMPION!!!”

  Galen mentally cursed, not at Redian, but himself. While he had figured out that eyes would be on him, he hadn’t thought that they’d be so strict about it as to have him watched around the clock. This explained Aleksi’s caution whenever they talked about sensitive matters, and why the man always switched to English in those occasions.

  He was worried about how he was going to shake off the person following him. However, as he neared the courtyard, the Sentient Weapon reported that the stalker had backed off.

  He sighed with relief, Well, that’s good. I can’t imagine how suspicious it would have looked if Aleksi had to help me lose them.

  Galen frowned as the heat of the outside hit him like an oven as he entered the courtyard, No matter how much time I spend here, I’ll never get used to this damn heat.

  He sat at a nearby bench shaded by an overhead tree. He did his best to look contemplative, as if he had merely come here to relax and meditate. Galen sat there for around twenty minutes before Redian spoke in his mind.

  “Aleksi’s here. To your left.”

  Thanks, he said to the sword before thinking to himself, okay… act natural, Galen.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Ah, lad! Fancy seeing you here,” Aleksi said in Durainese as he raised a hand in greeting, flawlessly acting as though he had simply happened upon him.

  “Yeah, likewise,” Galen said as he returned the greeting.

  “You’re here alone?” Aleksi asked, which was code for, “were you followed?”

  “Yeah,” he answered both questions, “what about you? You finished your duties?”

  That was code for, “You made sure you weren’t followed either, right?”

  “Yes. It took some effort, but I managed,” Aleksi answered both questions.

  Galen internally sighed with relief.

  “That’s great!” he said before switching from Durainese to English as an extra precaution, “so, where are we heading?”

  Aleksi had a glint in his eye as he said, “Why, the stables, of course.”

  “...Huh…?”

  ***

  Apparently, Aleksi hadn’t been entirely serious about meeting at the stables. They’d indeed gone to where the castle had their horses, but his mentor revealed to him that they would go galloping for a bit before moving onto business.

  Galen hadn’t expected that their secret meeting would be accompanied by steeds. Nor had he expected that there was an entire area behind the castle where the nobility could freely ride their mounts.

  He was no stranger to riding horses. He was far from an expert rider, mind you, but his mother had been raised in a farm where her family had owned a few of the animals. When visiting his grandparents on his mother’s side of the family, Olivia Daxton had taken him on a few rides. It was fun, but he wasn’t crazy about horse riding.

  That fact must have shown on his face as Aleksi rode past him on his own, very large steed, “Come on, lad! A snail could outpace you at the rate you’re going! Look at your poor horse! She wants to gallop, so let her gallop!”

  Galen grit his teeth, bracing himself before flicking the reins.

  Aleksi hadn’t been wrong.

  He’d barely flicked his wrists when the horse suddenly took off on a full gallop.

  “WHOA!!!” he screamed as the horse took complete control and galloped across the green field.

  Aleksi’s laughter could be heard echoing across the field, and Galen swore that if there wasn’t a good reason for all this, he was going to smack the man with Redian’s pommel.

  Speaking of the Sentient Weapon, the sword was laughing at Galen right alongside Aleksi.

  For that offense, he put Redian on that list of someone needing a good smack.

  After what seemed like an eternity, they stopped under a tree and hitched their horses in a good spot, resting under the shade.

  Galen all but collapsed as he already felt sore in muscles he had forgotten were used in horseback riding. He would have burned Ether to endure the ride, but he didn’t want to have to take another pill to curb his Intolerance. He was surprised to find how tempting it had been, and how much he wanted to take that medication. He chalked it up to him starting to rely a bit too much on Ether, something he wasn’t sure how to feel about.

  “You… ow, better have a good reason… For this!” he groaned.

  Aleksi gave a hearty chuckle at his state before responding in English, “I do, lad! Ask your sword if you were being followed or not today.”

  “I already did when I met with you in the courtyard!”

  “And after, when we headed to the stables?” Aleksi asked.

  Galen blanched at that. He mentally reached out to the Sentient Weapon, who gave him a report, “He’s right, boss. Once you two left the courtyard, not just one, but two people were following. They remained observing for a while, but after a good while of watching you scream in terror as your horse dragged you around, hilarious by the way, they left. And I think they might have been laughing as they did.”

  “So that’s why you brought us out here,” Galen said, looking back to his mentor.

  “I figured the best way to shake off any prying eyes and ears would be for them to think you were merely fooling around and doing something recreational. I hate to tell you, lad, but the Dominion keeps a close eye on your day to day activities. They’re careful not to watch you every waking moment, however, lest you catch on to their spying. Seems you’ve already figured that they’re watching you though.”

  Galen’s ears burned red as he admitted, “I only found out for sure earlier today, and that was only because Redian told me.”

  “No shame in that, lad. The Dominion… they’ve got trained spies. Very well trained spies.”

  Aleksi sat next to him, “So, what did you want to talk about? What’s been eating at you?”

  Galen sighed, sitting up with a groan before taking his notebook from his pocket and handing it over.

  “What’s this?” his mentor asked curiously.

  “All the notes I took as I studied the history books I was given. Only, the notes in that journal are from after I learned about slavery here. I went back, re-read the books, started reading the Athurai book Milton gave me, and read between the lines. Or tried to, anyway,” Galen answered as Aleksi began to skim through his findings.

  He nervously rubbed his face as Aleksi read through his notebook. Though he knew his mentor would read his conclusions, he felt compelled to say them aloud anyway, “I found a lot of inconsistencies. Especially when I noticed the obvious bias found in the texts. The history books and especially the Athurai texts prop up humanity on a pedestal. They put them in an exclusively good light, and go out of their way to paint them as the victim in all the major conflicts. The other races, especially the elves, were all but vilified.”

  Aleksi was quiet for a long time as he finished reading through Galen’s notes.

  Finally, he said, “You’ve got a sharp eye, lad, to be able to catch all that you have from skewed sources.”

  His mentor turned to him, and asked, “So, why bring this to my attention?”

  Galen swallowed as he answered, “I… I wanted to ask for your counsel on what I should do… but first, I wanted to ask something else…”

  “I’m listening,” Aleksi said in a somehow soothing manner.

  He garnered his courage before asking his mentor the same question he had asked Redian, “If you had to choose between helping me, or the Dominion, what would you choose?”

  He was surprised at how quickly his mentor answered the question, “I’d help you, lad. Without question.”

  Galen didn’t know why, but he got the feeling that Aleksi was being honest. He hadn’t answered so quickly to give him a false reassurance. That was genuinely how the man felt.

  He was surprised to find tears forming in his eyes, “Thank you… I… thank you!”

  Aleksi wrapped an arm around him in a comforting manner. It reminded him of how his Dad used to do the same, which made him choke back a sob.

  Galen took a few moments to calm himself before asking, “So… what do you think I should do? Now that I know all this, I mean. It’s clear to me now that the Dominion isn’t as altruistic as Milton made it out to be. And I don’t even know if he’s been lying to me or if he genuinely believed he’d been telling the truth.”

  Aleksi contemplated for a good while before he gave a response.

  And that response was the very question Galen had been avoiding answering, “You have to ask yourself lad. Now that you know what you know, will you continue to work with Athanasius and his empire, or will you turn your back on them, even if it means potentially losing your chance to return to your world?”

  “I’ve been avoiding asking myself that…” he turned to his mentor with a plea in his eyes as he implored, “Please, tell me… What should I do…?”

  Aleksi was quiet for a good while longer before answering, “If I were in your shoes, lad, I’d do what I think the Maker would believe was right. The question is not what I would do, however. It’s what you will do. Even if it meant costing you your chance to return home, would you turn your back on Athanasius and the Dominion? Or would you aid a war mongering, human supremacist nation and its tyrannical ruler conquer all the Realms?”

  The way Aleksi framed that last question was as though he were speaking fact rather than making any accusations.

  Galen contemplated the conundrum. If he worked with the Dominion, helped them in their goals to unify, or rather what now seemed more like conquer, Avani… Just how many people would suffer under Athanasius’s rule?

  He thought of the elf slaves he’d seen.

  How many would he damn to such a life if he aided Athanasius?

  Sure, Galen could do what he’d told Milton he would do, and do everything he could to abolish slavery and the unjust discrimination of the other races. But such things took time even in the best case scenario. Especially if he didn’t want to splinter this empire and cause civil war. A similar scenario happened back on Earth with the United States, after all.

  And this was assuming he succeeded in freeing the slaves. More likely, even with his influence as the Champion, he’d face severe political opposition from the Dominion’s nobility. He might have an ally in this regard in Athanasius, but that was assuming Milton hadn’t been lying to him about the Emperor’s goals. There was a real, solid chance he’d fail, and any progress he’d make could easily be undone once he returned to his world.

  Could he really be so selfish as to damn an untold number of people, just for his own desire to return home? What would his grandfather think of such a decision? His parents? Serenity…

  Galen closed his eyes tightly, tears flowing down his face.

  “I… I…” he struggled to verbally make the decision. He felt that, once he did, there would be no turning back…

  He couldn’t do it.

  Not yet.

  I’m a fucking coward!

  As if sensing his internal struggle, his mentor rubbed his back in a comforting manner, “Oh lad… You’re so young… Too young to be in the position that you’re in.”

  Galen opened his eyes and saw to his surprise that Aleksi was giving him a proud smile, one that a parent would give their child. One that Galen had seen on both his grandfather’s and his dad’s faces before.

  He frowned, “Why are you smiling at me like that?”

  “Because I think I know your answer. Even if you’re not willing to say it aloud just yet.”

  Aleksi surprised him by patting him on the shoulders and saying, “I think you’re finally ready for the next step. lad.”

  Galen frowned as he wiped the tears from his eyes, “Ready for what?”

  “The truth.”

  That only confused him even more.

  “I’ll tell you tomorrow, lad. I think once you hear the truth, you’ll be able to muster your resolve to make your decision. For now, go back to your room and get some rest. There are some things I need to prepare, and you should prepare as well.”

  “Prepare? For what?”

  “I’m not entirely certain yet, but prepare to leave, just in case. Prep a bag with some essentials and-”

  Galen interrupted is mentor, “Already done.”

  Aleksi raised a brow.

  He actually managed to crack a smile, “My grandfather taught me to always have what we called, a bug out bag. That’s a bag preemptively packed with survival supplies and kept ready for use in case of an emergency. I’ve had one ready not long after I started studying to learn Durainese.”

  Aleksi bellowed with laughter, “If I meet your grandfather in the next life, I’ll be sure to shake that man’s hand! Go now, lad. Rest. Tomorrow, if all goes well, I’ll come to you with the truth. I’d tell you now, but as you know, eyes and ears are everywhere, and it’ll be an even longer conversation than this one.”

  He nodded. He began to leave before he stopped, turning back to Aleksi, “Just in case we were being watched, if they ask you why I was crying. Tell them my mother used to take me horseback riding when I was younger, and that being out here reminded me of her. She did, in fact, used to take me horseback riding, by the way.”

  “I appreciate it, lad,” Aleksi said with a smile and a nod.

  With that, Galen unhitched his horse, and rode back to the stables.

  https://www.patreon.com/c/GenZVall2025