As the days passed, Nogryl was approaching the capital city of the Kingdom, the Great City of Ventrius, together with Aryon Smite.As they rode, the Grand Paladin spoke:

  "The dark times are ahead of us, Nogryl, as the evil slowly wakes beneath the mountain; its presence can already be felt in the air. But if prophecy is true, you will lead the men to the decisive victory against the forces of darkness, and with you on our side, mankind has nothing to fear.“The paladin proclaimed as two armored knights rode their horses down the wide road made of enormous stone blocks.

  "The mountain?“ The man asked, and the paladin responded:

  "Mount Nal'Gorah, the place used to be the golden hall of the gods back in the day. They held their councils there and decided the fate of the mortal world as they forged it together day by day. but when the mortal world was made, Xorael vowed to bring forth the order and rule as the king of the gods.

  "The ruler of the gods and men, bringer of law and order“ Nogryl replied and added,

  "Sir Collin told me about Xorael in his teachings when I was young.“

  "But what he hasn't told you is that Xorael is not one of the Greater Gods, the Olfyris. Before the Greater Gods, there were the Gods before the Gods, the Primordial Divines, such as Xorael, and together with Aroseth, the God of Chaos, he was created by Nayael, the maker of the gods.“

  "Primordial Divines? Wasn't Xorael the one and only Primeval Deity, and wasn't Aroseth one of the Alofyr that attempted to overthrow his makers?“ Norgyl questioned in confusion.

  "There were five of the Primordial Divines, Aroseth being one of them, together with Xorael.“ Aryon replied: "When Xorael took his crown, Aroseth, the God of Chaos, raised an army to defeat him and his followers. His idea was that the mortal world needs no divine ruler, and together with him, seven gods from the pantheon rebelled against their newly crowned king, together with half of the armies of Alofyr that became later known as the Gorugolm.“

  "So the church lied again, but why is this relevant now?“ The Knight replied in an unsurprised voice.

  "It must be stated that Aroseth was defeated almost four thousand years ago, but what remains of him is not dead yet; it still lives beneath the mountain, whispering in the wind as its power grows, subtly affecting the very fabrics of the world with its existence and its incomprehensible power.“

  As the paladin spoke, Nogryl could vividly remember the massive face in the sky above the mountain in his dream, and as a terrible shiver went down his spine, he heard a faint whisper in his right ear: "Nogryl".

  "I can hear it calling my name“ The knight stated silently as his concern started to grow.

  "Whatever it is that lies beneath the mountain, it has to be destroyed. The power so great cannot be bound so easily; it will inevitably awake again and put humanity and the entire world in danger", Aryon added.

  "And if something so powerful is truly to awake, the world would face consequences never seen before, the war far greater than the War of the Gods, the slaughter and famine yet unseen, and the chaos that would reign eternally over the material realm and beyond.“

  The grand paladin proclaimed, and after finishing his sentence, the horses started to gallop, as if they could understand his words. And not long after, a large gate appeared in front of the men. The gate itself was made of iron, with depictions of the various scenes portrayed on them in pure gold, surrounded by a massive stone wall.The walls were made of the white stone from the surrounding hills and shores, and behind them, there was another layer of the wall and another gate.

  "Welcome to the Great City of Ventrius, the man said as Nogryl looked in awe.The towers that were strategically placed in important positions and strongholds on the walls nearly reached the skies, and on top of them were numerous armored troops and massive ballistae.

  The city stretched as far as the eyes could see, and from the top of a gate fortification, a guard in shiny plate armor yelled:

  "Hey! It's Nogryl! He's alive!“ He repeated as two of the knights entered the city,And as soon as Nogryl rode into the city, the streets were full of crowds cheering and celebrating his return.

  "These folks are perfectly ignorant of what is to come." Aryon silently spoke as he held the reins tightly in his hand and added:

  "Those happy faces... They've never seen the chaos of the battle, nor the terrors of war."

  "Well, perhaps those walls will keep them safe!“ Nogryl cheerfully proclaimed with a smile on his face as he waved at the excited crowd.

  "No walls can keep them safe for long.“ The paladin replied. With his knowledge, his colorless and monotone personality became much more understandable.

  Nogryl seemed to be much more popular and beloved in the Kingdom capital, where none of the folks had seen him in person, as a man that he is, but only heard the tales of his legend that created the idealistic image of their savior in their minds.

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  Everyone went outside on the streets to see the allegedly immortal hero of mankind.

  "Hey look guys, it's Nogryl!“ One of the young men from the tavern yelled.

  "He is as tall as the tales depict!“ The other one replied. Two of the knights continued towards the town center as Nogryl greeted the crowd and caught the bouquets of flowers that the young women threw towards him. Having nowhere else to go, the knights said goodbye to the crowd before entering a large tavern as the waitress took care of their horses.The tavern was enormous; its white walls were lit by the torches and gilded chandeliers that hung over the massive mead hall. Many tables filled the place, topped with soft red velvet, with ornaments and candles on the top.

  Yet, the tavern, being a place of dwelling for many of the adventurous folk, was still cozy and casual. A couple of the guards stood at the entrance of the hall, so much less of the lawless sort could be encountered there than in the average inn of the outer reaches of the kingdom.

  "Welcome to the Wandering Knight, the finest tavern in the land!“ A young waitress spoke before both of the men ordered some ale and food to rest from the adventure.

  And after a while, two armored guards strode through the tavern door, but it did not take long for Nogryl to realize that those were Alwin and Henry.

  "We've been told that you are alive.“ Henry stated, and Alwin added;

  "And it was an easy guess that you'd sit and have a drink like in the good old days in the Sleeping Boar,“ all of the men started laughing, except the grand paladin.

  "So it must be you who sent me the letter, boy?“ Aryon questioned and looked at young Henry, who was pulling a nearby chair towards the table.

  "Oh yeah, it was me, so you must be Aryon Smite?“

  "Indeed,“ the paladin replied.

  "Nice to meet you, Sir!“ Henry stated and shook his large armored hand.

  "There is no need for the formalities. Nogryl told me about you during our ride; you must be one of the bravest militiamen in the whole kingdom.“

  "We've joined the armored regiment quite recently, that is.“ The young man replied and tapped his steel bracers, still admiring his new uniform.

  "And the pay is much better!“ Alwin added as he sipped his beer as soon as the waitress arrived.The men have spent some time drinking and talking, and then the important subjects came up:

  "So what happened with Lynda?“And as soon as Henry asked, Nogryl stood silent for a couple of seconds and spoke:

  "She was killed by Nuula herself; there is no need to keep the secret anymore; she has betrayed us!“He said out loud and smacked his fist against the large wooden table, and the rest of the group remained silent.

  "That's it, gentlemen; I must meet with the knights of the city and with the garrison commanders. Take your time and rest; you will join the regiment's training tomorrow.“ The paladin announced, as he stood up and left, leaving a small sack of coins on the table for the drinks.

  "What a serious guy...“ Alwin stated before chugging his ale, but Nogryl did not respond; he simply stared blankly at the wall.

  "What are you thinking?“ His long-haired friend asked as he waved his hand in front of his face.

  "Ughh... this is not the Nogryl I knew; soon enough we'll have to be forcing you to drink and avoid your duty.“ The man stated with a grudge in his voice and crossed his arms as he stared at the empty mug.

  "There will be no more drinking and avoiding the duty.“ After a brief silence, Nogryl added,

  "It's my mistake after all; I was too soft...“. He was clearly talking about Nuula and what she did to Lynda. It became obvious that Nogryl had changed ever since the Smite's ritual was performed on him, and his wounds were purified, but still, he was not like before.

  "Did the big gilded guy infect you with some seriousness-inducing disease?“ Alwin asked for and ordered another drink before adding;

  "Death is natural; don't get me wrong, I cared for Lynda too; she was such a pretty lass. But life goes on, at least for us, since we survived.“

  "Prepare for tomorrow; we will be training a lot.“ The knight replied and stood up before walking away as his armor clinked with every quick step he took.

  "Thanks for the beer, bucket man!“ Alwin replied, and Henry quickly rose from his seat.

  "You heard him; we should take a rest for tomorrow.“And so both of the men left the tavern for the busy streets and found their way towards the city barracks.

  The large stone fortification consisted of an armory, storage, a kitchen, and a massive sleeping room with the bunk beds. It was surrounded by four towers, one on each corner, and it had a large wooden gate.

  In the middle of the fortification, when looked at from above, there was a training yard surrounded by the walls.

  "At least we do not have to worry about the Ur'glun night raid here, Henry said as he lay on a bed above Alwin's".

  "You can never know.“