The Storm King

Leon stared at the brown liquid in the vial and was unable to hide the profound disgust on his face.

“Don’t be such a baby!” Elise chided. “Drink it!”

This was the potion that would help Leon regrow his arm, so despite his face twisting into such an ugly grimace that it felt like it would never return to normal, Leon still tossed the vial back and swallowed its contents. He tried his best not to taste the thick sludge-like potion, but it was so foul that he failed in this endeavor, and almost choked as it made its way into his stomach. Fortunately, he was able to fight through it, and after a few seconds of discomfort as his stomach twisted itself into knots, things settled down and the taste faded away.

“It should start working any minute now…” Elise muttered as she stared at where Leon’s left shoulder used to be, where the bandages had just been removed before Leon downed the potion. It was an unnerving sight, that of a shirtless Leon missing an arm, but Elise was above such primal aversion and didn’t look away.

“What all was in that potion?” Leon asked as he desperately tried to take his mind off the procedure.

“The Meligaent’s Obsession, Asha tree sap, four additional common healing herbs, and a mashed up Catewallian Isidae—a beetle whose powdered shell has some startling healing properties.”

Leon fought the urge to throw up, which after a few seconds he realized wasn’t too difficult as his waist had gone numb. Regardless, he was quite happy that until now, he hadn’t had to rely on healing potions. Healing spells usually did the job for him, which was fortunate given how relatively cheap they were to produce, but healing spells couldn’t regenerate body parts and had only marginal effects on diseases, which is where healing potions found their niche.

The three healers that tended to Leon after he was transferred from the Legion hospital were also in the room, but they were silent as a graveyard. The lead healer, in particular, stared at Leon’s torso looking for any sign that the potion wasn’t working. He and Elise had spent the past two days making it, but the Meligaent’s Obsession was young, and he wasn’t confident that it would work well.

That being said, he hadn’t seen anything that concerned him. Yet.

“Sir Leon, I must remind you to tell me if you experience any pain or anything else at all that concerns you,” the lead healer stated as he took a few steps forward to the side of the bed to more closely monitor Leon’s condition.

“I will, should I feel anything like that,” Leon said.

Suddenly, his stomach tightened until it felt like a rock in his waist, and Leon almost bent over in pain. But before he could tell the lead healer, he felt it loosen and warmth spreading throughout his body.

“Be ready…” the lead healer said to the other two healers as Leon pushed himself back into a seated position. “We have to move fast if this potion’s regenerative powers need any direction.”

The other two healers nodded, but it seemed like that wouldn’t be necessary, as the wound on Leon’s shoulder instantly closed up. Immediately following this, his shoulder started to swell like a bubble.

Leon had to stifle a few moans of discomfort—any pain he felt had faded away, but he felt a phantom itch in his left forearm and a burning sensation in his left shoulder, neither of which were there anymore.

That changed as the swelling continued, the bubble of skin forming and shaping itself into a shoulder over the course of about thirty seconds. Cracking echoed through the room as new bones grew within the shoulder to support it, and the bubble extended downward.

“Do you feel any pain, Sir Leon?” the lead healer asked as he avidly watched the regeneration. For all his warnings about the possible dangers, he was still fascinated at such a quick regeneration, as normally the regrowth of an arm would take weeks at best and as much as half a year under normal circumstances. With the progress so far, he relaxed a bit, but he still kept his duties in mind.

“Nothing to write home about,” Leon murmured as the bubble of skin continued to inch downward, soon forming his upper arm.

Again, cracking sounds were heard as bones grew, and a sickening, almost wet sound joined this cracking as muscles formed over the bones.

Leon could feel magic flowing into his rapidly-forming left arm from his stomach. It concentrated in the bubble of skin at the end and wove itself into organic tissue, and the more his arm regenerated, the more weight Leon could feel lift itself off his shoulders. The shadows of fear and depression in his mind that he kept suppressed were brightening as his arm returned to him.

With a snap, Leon’s entire upper arm was back, with muscles to match his right arm. Leon was a bit surprised, as he thought that the arm might regenerate with only the barest hint of muscle, but instead, his arm regenerated so well that now it looked like it had been amputated at the elbow rather than the shoulder.

Overall, the sensation of his arm regrowing was one that Leon would describe as pleasant, though there was some stinging pain every now and then as his nerves reformed.

The bubble continued down his forearm over the next few seconds, only to slow down immensely as it reached the complex skeletal structure of his wrist. However, even though it went slower than the rest of his arm, his wrist and hand soon took shape out of the bubble of flesh.

It was over. Leon’s arm was back, and with nary a hint of lost strength—or at least, none that he could tell. As with most things, it would be training and combat that would be the true test.

“Sir Leon, could you please raise your arm a bit?” the lead healer asked as he approached the bed. Leon complied, and the healer started poking and squeezing Leon’s arm, making sure that everything was working as it should and that there were no missing bits.

“Incredible…” one of the other healers muttered.

“Indeed, I had no idea that it would work so quickly,” Elise admitted. She then looked at Leon, her brow turned upward in concern, and asked, “Do you feel anything wrong? Any pain or weakness?”

“None,” Leon said as he flexed his arm and channeled some magic into it. His shoulder was a bit stiff, almost concerningly so, but apart from that, it was as if he had never lost the arm. The stiffness didn’t seem to be a problem, though, so he didn’t mention it.

An invisible weight seemed to lift itself off his shoulders as he leaned back in his bed, his arm newly regrown. The loss of a limb is rarely taken well by anyone, and Leon managed to keep himself calm and sane only because of the promise of Elise’s Meligaent’s Obsession.

[Hmph, you’re quite the lucky human,] came Xaphan’s voice from Leon’s soul realm. [I’d have never thought that such a weak human could’ve recovered from an amputation so quickly. You’d better do right by that girl, else I’ll do the universe a favor and incinerate you from the inside.]

[Noted,] Leon replied with an almost sarcastic smile. He loved Elise and he had no intention of ever doing anything to bring her to tears; he didn’t need his demonic partner to threaten him with death for that intent and his feelings of love to grow stronger after this experience.

Elise, seeing Leon flex and stretch his arm, gave him a radiant smile, which he happily returned. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, and Leon held her close.

“I… think we’re in the way here,” the lady healer said, and she almost pulled the other two healers out of the room. It was clear enough that the regeneration had been a success, and that they were no longer needed—if there had been any problems, the lead healer was skilled enough that he would’ve found them by now.

Once the two separated, Leon smiled awkwardly at his lady and said with a downturned gaze, “I’m sorry you had to use such a valuable herb on my worthless ass.”

“And who said you’re worthless?” Elise asked with a wry smile. “Whoever they are have clearly suffered some extreme brain damage!”

Leon chuckled, but then he turned serious again and replied, “If I weren’t in that situation, if I were strong enough to avoid being injured like that…”

He would’ve continued on like that for a while longer, but Elise silenced him with a finger on his lips.

“Not another word, love,” she whispered. “It doesn’t matter that you were injured. You came back, and that’s what counts. That’s all that counts. I’d obviously prefer if you weren’t in such danger, but you survived.”

[She’s speaking sense, boy,] Xaphan chimed in, somewhat ruining the atmosphere that Leon and Elise were cultivating. [If your life is at risk, you should never hesitate to do what you need to do to survive. And hopefully kill your enemy, but survival is paramount.]

[Mmhmm,] Leon responded to the demon, then turned his attention back to his lover.

“It doesn’t matter how hurt you are, I’ll always be here,” Elise said with a glowing smile on her beautiful face. “If you need it, I’ll give you whatever you need to heal.”

Leon smiled bitterly, it being made clear once again that he couldn’t offer the same things. He’d give Elise all he could if the need ever arose, of course, but it was a mere drop in the bucket compared to the resources she could bring to bear as a high-ranking member of Heaven’s Eye.

“Can… I’d…” Leon sputtered, not quite knowing how to approach the issue. He knew it was irrational and stemmed mostly from insecurity, but he also didn’t know what there was to be done about it other than working on it on his own.

But Elise stared at him with her big brilliant green eyes and waited patiently for him to ask whatever was on his mind. Despite his public stoicism, he didn’t hide much from her in private, and she could tell that there was something important that he was trying to work through.

“Is it necessary to live here?” he finally asked, and Elise almost had to take a moment to recover from how unexpected the question was.

“Are you… thinking of staying somewhere else?” Elise asked with a worried tone.

“I was,” Leon confirmed, but as Elise’s expression turned to one of pain and dejection, he continued. “I love you, and I want to live with you, but there are so many things you’ve done for me… I don’t know, I know that I shouldn’t feel this way, but I can’t help it. I suppose I would just feel a bit better if, at the very least, we didn’t have to live with your mother, even if we’re on the opposite side of the estate from her.”

“So… you’re asking if we…” Elise hesitantly began, not quite sure what Leon was getting at.

“I was hoping we could get a place for ourselves,” Leon said, finally straightening out his tongue a little. “I don’t want a place that’s just yours, and I definitely don’t want a place that’s your mother’s…”

Leon didn’t honestly dislike Emilie, despite her revealing his identity to Alix and her threats to him after Elise decided to not have a harem for herself, but he also greatly valued his own privacy, and there was always a shadow in the back of his mind that Emilie’s estate wasn’t that private.

Leon continued, “But I also don’t want a place that’s just mine, a place where you’re allowed to stay. What I want is someplace that can be ours, and ours alone. Someplace that we both pick out, a home for ourselves, a place where we’re not beholden, officially or otherwise, to anyone else, such as your mother. Does any of this make sense?”

“Yes, it does,” Elise said with a giggle. She climbed into bed next to Leon and snuggled up against him. “Have anywhere in mind?”

“Hadn’t gotten around to planning that far ahead, yet,” Leon admitted. “Should I assume, then, that you’re on board with this?”

“Of course I am!” Elise animatedly replied. “I’ve been thinking about moving out for a while, now, since before I returned from Teira, in fact. This was mostly because Mother kept bothering me to find a boy, but since you and I got together, she’s really backed off, so I haven’t felt particularly rushed. Besides, it’s always hard to move out of your childhood home.”

Leon nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. He hadn’t much of a choice when it came to leaving his home behind, as it had been quite thoroughly trashed by the team of assassins that killed his father. Still, it wasn’t an easy thing to do, despite his relative lack of hesitation.

“How about I put out some feelers and we can decide after they get back to us?” Elise suggested.

“We should probably get on the same page as to what we want, first,” Leon said as he pulled her closer with his newly-grown left arm, quietly relishing in the fact that it was back. “Regardless, though, I think we need to split the costs right down the middle.”

“You know that that hardly matters to me?” Elise said.

“All right, no need to brag about your wealth!” Leon said as he playfully flicked her on the forehead. “It doesn’t matter that you’re so rich it hardly matters to you if you pay for the whole thing, the point is to get to something that belongs to the both of us.”

“Mmmmm,” Elise hummed, her face scrunching up in mock irritation after his finger flick. “I suppose…” she whispered, and the two began to debate exactly what they might want when it came to a house of their own.

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This was the original Ch. 308, but after giving it a re-read, but I didn’t think it fit, I couldn’t find a place to make it fit, and I felt it was a bit short and insubstantial. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to just delete it, so here it is instead, as some bonus content.

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Gaius stifled a groan as he left Octavius’ wing of the Royal Palace. He had just arrived in the capital several hours before as an escort for the Prince’s household belongings and had to stay and ‘supervise’ the steward and servants as they moved everything into Octavius’ apartments. In other words, he had to stand and watch and try not to look too bored while everyone else did all the work.

It wasn’t a particularly grubby job, but he most certainly didn’t appreciate it. He was supposed to be Octavius’ squire, and being tasked with this menial of a job was a new low in Gaius’ opinion. Being ignored by everyone was one thing, being a comfortable hostage was another, but being treated like a glorified servant was worse than both.

Still, if it got Gaius away from both Octavius and the Earthshaker Paladin, he wasn’t going to complain, no matter how a task like this tried his patience. Ever since the events around the Prince’s gathering in Valentia, Gaius had been shunned even more than he was by the Prince’s faction, namely Octavius himself and both Paladins in his corner. He guessed they might have suspected him for knocking out the Earthshaker Paladin and freeing the girls he had imprisoned and abused, but they obviously had little proof of it otherwise he might’ve been treated far worse.

Regardless, Gaius had long since accepted his circumstances and that he’d never learn a thing under Octavius about being a knight, though that isn’t to say he enjoyed his work. At the very least, though, he was assured that his life and safety weren’t in any danger, otherwise Octavius could lose the support of his family. To harm him would defeat the purpose of having him as a hostage, after all.

Gaius walked away from Octavius’ apartments, his work for the day complete—Octavius had given him strict instructions not to bother him until the next day, which Gaius was perfectly fine with. He was looking forward to relaxing in the capital, perhaps even spending some time with his older brother, Nicomedes. However, just as Gaius was about to reach the bridge back to the city proper, he heard someone call out from behind him.

“Gaius!”

Gaius turned around to see who it was and saw none other than Tiberias Decimius, one of his fellow third-tier nobles who attended the Knight Academy alongside him.

“Ah, Tiberias!” Gaius exclaimed as he summoned up some measure of enthusiasm after his long and surprisingly exhausting journey from Valentia hundreds of miles to the southwest.

“I thought that was you!” Tiberias said as he quickly jogged forward and caught up to Gaius.

“What’re you doing here? I wasn’t expecting to see you until the knighting ceremony in a few months!” Gaius asked in confusion. He and Tiberias were friendly enough after having known each other for years, but Gaius wasn’t too fond of the other man overall. Tiberias almost always acted with all the politeness and dignity that a son of a Duke ought to, but it would occasionally slip for a second or two and Gaius would get a glimpse at something dark within Tiberias. Even before Gaius had started to make a concerted effort to be better, to be less arrogant, he hadn’t felt completely comfortable around Tiberias.

“I came here in anticipation of our knighting!” Tiberias said as he fell in beside Gaius and the two began to leisurely walk across the bridge.

“You’re a few months early, in that case,” Gaius replied.

“You’re not wrong, but there was little for me to actually do with the Legate I was assigned,” Tiberias said.

“What do you mean? Even if there wasn’t much work you had to do, just getting some experience dealing with the paperwork of a Legion should’ve been enough,” Gaius said, though once he was finished, he thought about his own situation.

‘Maybe Tiberias has found himself in a similar situation to me, where his assigned knight wasn’t treating him with the expected courtesy?’ he wondered.

Before Tiberias could explain his reasoning, Gaius changed his question. “Which Legion were you sent, again?”

“Ah, the 12th,” Tiberias answered.

“The 12th…” Gaius muttered as he thought back to his childhood geography lessons—the assigned locations were taught in the Knight Academy as well, but Gaius hadn’t felt the need to attend those lessons. Besides, the locations weren’t always accurate, since Prince Trajan liked to move his Legions around, as did other Consuls on occasion. “That’s the one closest to your family’s lands, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Tiberias said with a smile. “It was a pretty easy job to do, especially since I’m on good terms with most of the nobles around the Aurelianorum. For the most part, all I was able to do was network and get to know some of the knights within the 12th; unfortunately, Legate Aurius somehow managed to fail upward, as he was far too imbecilic to teach me anything of worth, except perhaps how to hide one’s own incompetence.”

Gaius lightly frowned at Tiberias’ harsh words toward his immediate superior. “Harsh words. I take it you won’t be joining the 12th Legion after becoming a knight?”

Traditionally, squires joined the units they were in for their squireship, but this wasn’t always the case. Some squires, especially those from powerful families, were given the option to choose where they wanted to serve. Gaius fully intended to try and take this route, if he were able, and from the way Tiberias was talking about the Legate he was assigned to, Gaius fully expected him to do the same.

“Hmm, I’m not sure,” Tiberias said with a thoughtful expression on his chiseled features. “I haven’t given it much serious thought. I’d need to think about where I would want to go instead, though off the top of my head I’d say any of the first five Legions would probably be my choice. How about you? You were serving a Prince, were you not? How did that go for you?”

Tiberias gave Gaius a pleasant but knowing smile, as it was clear that Gaius was tired and none too happy.

Gaius gave the other young nobleman a bitter smile in turn, and said, “Not sure what I’m going to do. I’d like to go home to Lentia, but that’s probably off the table. I think that His Highness might demand that I continue to serve him, but who knows. I’ll have to cross that bridge when I come to it.”

“Speaking of bridges,” Tiberias said as they approached the end of the bridge back to the rest of the city, “doing anything right now? How about joining me for a bite over at the Heaven’s Eye Tower?”

“No thanks, I just came outside to clear my head,” Gaius replied. He had a room near Octavius’ apartments and permission to use one of the numerous dining halls within the Royal Palace to eat, so there wasn’t much need for Gaius to leave the palace except on official business. But Gaius needed to get out for a while, and walking around the capital seemed like a good idea at the time, but if he knew that he was going to run into Tiberias, he probably would’ve stayed in.

“Too bad, I would’ve liked some company,” Tiberias said as he gave Gaius one last smile that seemed quite genuine, then took off to the west toward the Heaven’s Eye Tower, leaving Gaius alone just outside the bridge’s gatehouse. Despite his claims, Tiberias wasn’t actually all that keen on being social, he simply said that to be polite. There was only one other person with whom he wanted to spend time, and Gaius wasn’t her.

Tiberias wanted to see Elise more than anything at the moment, despite strict instructions from his father to maintain a high level of distance, both physical and otherwise, from Heaven’s Eye. But it took no more than a thought of her red hair, of her glittering green eyes, of the dresses she wore when she was at the Tower, and he disregarded all of Duke Euphemius’ instructions.

But Gaius didn’t know any of this. He simply chose a direction at random and started walking. It wasn’t quite evening yet, so he had plenty of time to just walk around.

He didn’t think about much in particular, it was a simple joy to just walk around and let his mind wander to whatever it felt like. He didn’t pay much attention to where he walked, and he eventually found himself in the southwestern parts of the city. The sun was starting to close in on the horizon, but he didn’t feel any inclination toward returning to the palace. Instead, he just kept walking.

Eventually, he found himself in a part of the city that was quite close to the Knight Academy. It was a familiar district, as it was the place where most of the trainees would end up during their off days.

It was also the district where Gaius had ordered his followers to assault any common members of Leon’s unit as they could find.

It was an arrogant command, one that led to retaliation and his continued humiliation.

‘Would’ve been best for everyone if I had just let it be…’ Gaius thought to himself.

He began to think about Leon, the object of his hatred and the catalyst for his desire to become a better knight. If he were honest, Gaius would have to admit that he still hated Leon with a passion, but he would also admit that it was irrational and that there was a measure of gratitude within him, as well.

‘Probably going to run into him again soon,’ Gaius thought as he stopped walking. ‘He’ll be at the knighting ceremony in a few months. I wonder how he’s done so far? I doubt he’s been slacking, which is more than I could say for myself…’

Gaius was suddenly aware of just how much time he was wasting, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Instead, he continued to lose himself in his own thoughts.

He thought about when he and Leon first met when Gaius had tried to kick him out of the Knight Academy’s entrance test and their subsequent duel. Gaius almost felt himself cringe a few cracks in his ribs when he thought about those events, but it wasn’t for his own humiliation that he cringed—or at least, it wasn’t entirely because of his humiliation. Rather, it was his own behavior that made Gaius want to fade away to a place where no one could see him.

Leon had humiliated him multiple times, but Gaius knew that he deserved most, if not all of it. But as he thought about these things, his thoughts naturally turned to Valeria, his childhood crush. His feelings hadn’t dimmed, but he was ready to admit that he probably wasn’t ever going to be with her.

He could still try and ask her, of course, but he wasn’t going to try and arrange anything between their families. He didn’t want to use his family’s influence on anything if he could help it, especially not to try and put pressure on Valeria. Still, he would like to see her again. And Leon, too, as much as Gaius would’ve preferred to deny it.

Gaius ran his fingers through his golden-blonde hair, clenched his eyes shut, and almost screamed in frustration right there in the street. Fortunately, he was able to control himself, and with the sun setting, there weren’t many people still outside to judge him, anyway.

‘Why am I thinking of these things?!’ he shouted at himself in his head. ‘Just getting myself depressed!’

Gaius composed himself as quickly as he was able, then turned to look back in the rough direction of the Royal Palace. He was starting to feel like returning, but he had spent nearly the entire walk thinking about his failures rather than relaxing as he had originally intended to do after finally coming back to the capital.

He sighed, then started to slowly make his way back to the palace. He thought about Valeria, Leon, and Octavius every step of the way, and there was only one thing he could think to himself: ‘Just a few more months…’