Bilric Ramel

The shadow figure slowly lost its darkness, revealing a young man—maybe in his early twenties, around the same age as my older brother. His hair and eyes shared a light grey tone, but when the sunlight hit his gaze, it reflected green, almost glowing with the forest light. He wore a light blue summer shirt and dark blue shorts, and a silver jewel hung from a cord around his neck.

It’s true winter had passed, but the air was still a little chilly sometimes, which made his outfit seem even more casual.
“The weather’s nice out here, isn’t it, boy?” he said, startling me. I guess I’d been staring for too long.

“Yeah… it’s starting to feel nice,” I replied.

“Come closer. Don’t worry—I’m just enjoying some fish. Want to join me?” he added, gesturing toward the small fire and skewered fish sizzling over it.

He didn’t seem dangerous, just... relaxed. So I stepped forward.

He handed me one of the fish. “Here. Give me your thoughts.”

I nodded and took a bite.

To my surprise—it was amazing. Perfectly cooked, well-seasoned, and rich with flavor.

“It’s delicious!” I blurted out before I could even think.

He laughed, a deep, easy sound. “See? I’m a professional! Years of wandering alone teach you all kinds of things—cooking just happens to be one of my best.”

“You’ve been wandering alone for years? Are you a traveler, sir? I don’t think I’ve seen you before,” I asked. Not that I actually know many people—I was just curious.

“Yeah, you could say that I’m a traveler. Or more like… someone who doesn’t like staying in one place for too long,” he said with a kind of blank look, then smiled—not at me, but to himself, like he was remembering something. A distant smile.

“Traveling alone, huh? Minimal contact with people… sounds kind of nice.”
I thought I said that in my head, but apparently, I said it out loud.

“Do you hate people?” he asked, casually running his fingers through his hair.

“It’s not that I hate people,” I replied, awkwardly smiling. “Sometimes I just prefer being alone. Does that make sense?”

“That’s normal, boy. Nothing to worry about. Everyone needs space sometimes. Don’t overthink it—you’re just a kid. And trust me, you’re not the only ‘special’ one,” he said, still messing with his hair.

Was he trying to make me feel better… or worse?
“Whatever,” I muttered.

“Oh yeah,” he added, “what’s your name, kid? We didn’t even introduce ourselves.”

“Bilric. Bilric Ra—… just Bilric, sir,” I said. No need to mention the Ramel part. The guy gives off a weird vibe—better to play it safe.

“Bilric, huh? What an awful name you’ve got there,” he said while rinsing his hands in the stream, not even looking at me.

For a second I wanted to shoot back, Do you know who my father is?
But I let it slide. No need to sound like some spoiled noble kid.

So I just asked, “What about you? What’s your name?”

He ignored me at first, then finally replied, “Grey. You can call me Grey.”

“Grey, nice to meet you, sir,” I said, trying to be polite—just like Mom taught us when it came to speaking the noble way. But again, he ignored me. Then, with a casual wave of his hand, he said, “Hey, can I call you Bil? Easier for me.”

Did my name really annoy him that much he had to rename it? I clenched my jaw, ready to say something back, but before I could speak, he cut in again.

“By the way, Bil—what’s a little kid doing in a dangerous jungle like this? You spying on me or something? Someone send you?”

His tone turned sharp, his whole vibe changing in an instant.

“N-no, sir,” I answered quickly, a bit rattled. “I’m just here to train my element. I ran into you by accident.”

Then he laughed out loud. “Is that so? My bad then, Bil.”

I didn’t like how fast his mood shifted. Was he just messing with me for fun?

“That’s not funny, sir,” I muttered.

But he only grinned, looking strangely excited. “It’s water, right? Your element. I felt it. The waterfall started reacting—must’ve been you.”

That threw me off. Most people just call it liquid. Even the instructors had a hard time pinpointing it exactly. How did this random traveler figure it out so easily?

“Yes, sir,” I said slowly. “Did you feel the water too? Are you a water element user? An anomaly?”

He burst into laughter again. “Anomaly? You’re not that special, kid. And no—my element’s not water.”

“Then how did you know?” I asked, pushing now. “Even my teachers didn’t.”

His smile faded. His tone turned serious again.

“You really want to know?” he said. “I’m kind of bored these days. I’ll be around this jungle for a couple weeks. You can visit—but bring something every time. I’m sick of eating fish. That’s my deal. Maybe you’ll get your answers.”

Should I trust him? He was definitely suspicious, but… I did want to know more. And it’s not like I had anything to lose.

“Yes, sir. I will,” I said, nervous, but also a little excited.

Simon Ramel

These past couple of weeks have actually been fun—well, if you take out the training part, of course. What made it enjoyable was that, to my surprise, Dad started letting me accompany him to some of his meetings. Even better, when I bombarded him with questions about how things work between the families of Charta, he actually took the time to answer me.

He used to brush me off whenever I tried to learn more about the politics of ruling, but lately, that’s changed. Maybe he thinks it’s finally time I start understanding how things really work… or maybe he’s slowly losing hope that Gurd will come back, so he’s starting to see me as the next in line. Or maybe it’s something else entirely—I honestly don’t know.

Still, I’ve been enjoying it. Learning so many new things all at once is exciting. Meanwhile, my poor brother Bilric has been training like crazy. Then again, he never cared about politics—or about people much, to be honest. But hey, everyone has their own interests.

Speaking of him, he’s been acting a bit weird lately. For the last two weeks, he’s been grabbing a ton of food every day, saying stuff like he needs extra energy for training. Yeah, right. But at least he seems energetic and in good spirits, so that’s good.

“Simon!” a voice suddenly shouted, making me jump. I turned around—and speak of the devil—it was Bilric.

Oh great, I was just thinking about you and you show up. Guess that twin bond really works.

“Bilric, finished your training for today?” I asked.

“Well, finished my jungle training,” he replied casually.

He’s been training alone in those jungles, saying the water there helps him with his element. I still find it weird that both Mom and Dad are fine with that, but he seems okay, so maybe I’m just overthinking it.

“Aren’t those jungles kinda dangerous and scary?” I asked.

“Yeah, at first it’s overwhelming, but you get used to it. And Dad said the jungle is under surveillance, so it’s fine,” he answered.

“Alright, so what’ve you got to show me? Learned something new?” I asked.

He grinned and said, “Yeah, a lot. Come on—let’s head to the training grounds behind the house. I want to show you some of my new moves.”

So we headed to the training grounds behind the house. “Alright, show me,” I said, half-teasing, expecting the usual water tricks.

But Bilric nodded with a serious expression. Not his usual awkward smile or quiet shrug—he was focused.

He took a breath, then started gathering energy. I could almost feel it in the air around us—dense and pulsing. Behind him, three spheres of water floated into existence: one above his head, and two flanking him on either side. They shimmered in the afternoon light, unnaturally still.

He raised his hand, pointed a finger at me, and said, “Bang.”

In a blink, the three orbs contracted into tiny, focused points. Then, almost like darts, thin streams of water shot from them with insane speed. I barely had time to flinch. The streams curved around me with precision and slammed into the large rock behind me, slicing through it like it was paper.

The rock split with a heavy crack, pieces falling to the ground. My heart skipped a beat.

“What do you think, Simon?” Bilric asked, that rare confident look on his face.

I didn’t answer right away. I couldn’t. He looked… different. Not just stronger—sharper. For a second, I saw Gurd in him. That same quiet power. That same focus. While I’d been having fun learning politics and gossiping with nobles, he’d been out here, pushing himself to the edge.

“When’s your next session?” I finally said, still staring at the ruined rock. “I want to come with you.”

Bilric raised an eyebrow, smirking. “That surprised you, huh? I’ll only let you if you refer to me as ‘Professor.’”

“Sure, Professor Ramel,” I laughed, shaking my head.