Valerian, The Legendary

150 Revelations.

Valerian and Priscilla bade farewell to Duke Vulcan and they moved out from the city, heading directly towards the national borders of the Stella empire. Their speed was fast, and Fortuna gave the wraiths a touch of ‘Inspiration’ their speed was the fastest they had ever run in their lives.

The two riders were surprised by this sudden outburst. However, Valerian understood the urgency. They had a week to cross this nation, and for that, they needed to sneak in, tame a flying beast, and then fly through the whole country to reach the enemy country, Valkyria.

This way they will avoid being spotted by the Stellan scouts. The magic beasts all had their territories. If a beast from the Lumen empire crosses deep into the territory, alone, it will definitely catch the attention of the scouts. Valerian was not out on a diplomatic trip that he would come and mend things up.

As they neared the borders, Priscilla said, “Mathiyus, run ahead, check for human patrols. Also, avoid alerting any other magical beasts.”

Mathiyus agreed to her and ran ahead. Valerian said, “It will take us two days to reach feather mountain and tame a cloud falcon.”

Priscilla nodded and said, “Are you sure you can deal with those stubborn beasts? They live in a group and they are hard to tame and even more difficult to train. The boy replied, “Calm down. I will handle it.”

The maid was at peace when she heard this. Valerian had never said anything that he could not do. Since he said this, she can rest her mind, the two people were riding their wraiths through the complicated terrain of the forest. Suddenly, the trees vanished and they appeared in a clear area. This was a method taken by the Stella empire to monitor the borders better.

Priscilla saw a line of pillars standing in their way and said, “The detection towers. How do you wish to cross them?”

Valerian asked, “What do you mean? Are there more than one methods to get through them?”

.....

Priscilla nodded and said, “One is to fly above them, the other is to use a dispersion spell. However, it is still early and the shadows are sparse, we cannot get through. At least, I cannot.”

Valerian nodded and said, “I can cast the light flash for both of us so that is not a problem, but you will have to give up control of your body for a bit.”

Priscilla nodded, she was overwhelmed with a faint sense of excitement, after all, she had never sneaked inside another country and that too a hostile one. Just when they were getting closer, Fortuna said, “Idiot, these wraiths can use dispersion too, and they can carry you directly to the edge of the shadows across.”

Valerian was surprised and asked, “Huh? I have never heard of this spell.”

Fortuna sighed and said, “Ignorance is bliss.”

She let out a growl and the wraiths became faster, and their sturdy bodies emitted black smoke. Soon Valerian noticed that the bodies of the wraiths had started to fade and mix up with the smoke, the smoke became thicker as it surrounded him, visibility was decreased to zero, and suddenly, the world cleared, and Valerian found himself standing under the shades cast by the thick canopy over his head.

Priscilla revealed a shocked expression and asked, “What happened just now?”

Valerian shook his head and said, “An ability of the wraiths. Fortuna made them use it.”

Priscilla was still in a daze when Valerian explained things, it turned out that every beast had an innate ability, but due to the fact that the wraiths were domesticated beasts, they were reduced to this level, and rarely ever did they use their perks.

Soon, the two of them regained their bearings and were about to rush out when Mathiyus arrived in front of them and said to Priscilla, “There is a patrol group approaching us. They will arrive in ten minutes, and they are a group of twenty men, with magic beasts in tow.”

Valerian did not waste any time and said, “If we use the wraiths to go past this point, the tracks and the smell will attract the patrolling team and the soldiers will catch up to us and it will prove detrimental for us.”

Priscilla nodded and they decisively got off from the mounts Valerian neighed at the beasts, telling them to go home. The wraiths moved away and Valerian cast an earth spell to conceal the tracks and they moved through the forest. Priscilla sighed, “The vegetation is so thick here.”

Valerian nodded and said, “Yes, this thick vegetation provides the Stellan Empire a great defense location.”

Priscilla nodded, the two of them were strong but in terms of physical strength, the maid had already fallen behind Valerian. Looking at her state, he decided to rest for half an hour. The maid was gratified but unknown to her, Fortuna said, ‘Look at her, so fragile. This was why I wanted you to move alone, or keep that person hidden in the dark with you. At least the speed of the journey will not be stagnated.’

Valerian looked at the panting girl beside him and felt bad in his heart. While he could not deny the logic Fortuna had stated, he could not accept it and send Priscilla back on her own either. They waited for thirty minutes and Valerian took out a mushroom-like herb and passed it to Priscilla. He said, “Chew on this, it will help you regain energy faster.”

Priscilla held the herb in her palm and asked, “What is this stuff? I have never seen this.”

Valerian replied with a calm face, “Vigor fruit, found in the coral reefs of Lumen shores. They are dried in sun for ten days and then consumed by the people. Some merchants buy a small amount of it and circulate it throughout the country. The effect is noticeable without any side effects.”

Priscilla was surprised by this detail and asked, “I have never heard of it, what book did you find it in?”

Valerian shook his head and said, “Genesis Town, Ersa used to tuck away a few of these blocks for me, in case I had to sleep on an empty stomach. One time Gloria locked me inside the library on the false ground of biting her neck. Mother Diligentia was out of town for some work, and when she found me, I was alive because of these.

Gloria framed me for being a demon for surviving without food. This herb did not leave any remains and helpless without any evidence mother was helpless.”

Priscilla did not expect to have poked his nerves and said, “I am sorry.”

Valerian shook his head as he motioned her to eat the herb. The time passed quickly and they hit the road again. Fortuna was sitting atop Valerian’s head, with her eyes closed. The silver-headed boy was not a fool, he had noticed that this furball was suffering. He could sense her mana leaking away.

After traveling for a day and night, they arrived at the foot of feather mountain and decided that they will climb this place in the morning because thunder falcon was a nocturnal creature and would be stronger at night. The couple ate meat from a prey Mathiyus caught and Fortuna cleaned up the rest.

Priscilla and Valerian dug a hole in the wall of the mountain and huddled inside. They were still very close to the border regions so it was possible that someone catches a glimpse of the light and locate them. The girl asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Valerian shook his head and said, “I was just wondering, what will her Excellency do if she found that I plan to sneak into Valkyrian territory?”

Priscilla shivered and said, “You will know when she turns me into a stuffed bag of skin.”

Valerian chuckled looked up at the sky to stare at the moon and said, “Sleep, I will take the first watch.”

After making sure that Priscilla has fallen asleep, Valerian cast a gaze at the furball laying on his chest. Under his gaze, Fortuna opened her eyes and asked, ‘What is it?’

Valerian asked, ‘What are you hiding from me?’

Fortuna sat up in surprise and asked, ‘When did you become so smart?’

Valerian did not reply but kept looking at her, the dragon knew this guy would not let her get away, so she sighed and said, “This is a bit difficult.”

Valerian asked, “I am putting my life at stake for you, I deserve this much trust from you. If not then you can try and go out alone. See if someone catches you and makes a stew out of you.”

Fortuna flared up and smacked her slap on his chest and said, “How dare you?”

Valerian did not feel anything, as she was in her cat avatar. Fortuna knew that it was her fault and she said, “If you did not take me to the river of times, I will lose my wings and I will not even have a magical source.”

This revelation shocked the boy.