The carriage traveled on the cobblestone road through the noble district as they set off. The horses neighed as they turned a corner to cut into the main highway that headed for the southern gate. Flora trailed behind the carriage, on Royal despite there being so many other horses.
Royal is typically very rude to newer riders but it took just a few tugs and chokeholds by Flora with her insane grip strength—for the poor horse to listen.
The ride through the empire's streets was peaceful, but the silence was quite awkward to Luke as he'd been mulling over something for the whole trip. He couldn't stop thinking about what Flora said—the mountain on Norn's shoulders.
He could instinctively feel that something is strange in her attitude. Perhaps this is a skill he picked up throughout the years of them being "siblings".
Joining them in the carriage was Rudolph. As usual, he was wearing his butler uniform but mixed it up with shorts today. With his delicate legs and gentle face, you would think he's an easy target to rob if you come across him on the street but Luke learned firsthand that this seemingly gentle-looking boy is way stronger than even the average imperial knight since Sebastian was his instructor as well.
It's great to have a reliable fighter like him at Luke's side so he might ask Rudolph to work at his castle once Marcus steps down.
Speaking of his father, he should go visit the palace tomorrow to see how Marcus is doing again. Adrianna and Judith, as well as Melina and Jack, had been absent from the house for a few days now so it's just been Luke, Norn, and Teresa at the house. Rudolph was handling all the important business so nothing much changed because of their absence.
A knock came from the window as the carriage came to a stop.
"We've arrived at the Resident Owlbear Inn, Lord Rudolph."
Rudolph opened the window, "Take the bags inside, we won't be staying long."
"Understood."
"Uhm, was an inn necessary?" Luke asked.
"You need a place to freshen up, which is why I suggested bringing more clothes for this outing. Don't tell me you want to stop by a river and strip nude, My Lord?"
"Ah, right…"
"Anyway, there's a park across the road from the carnival so I arranged a gazebo to be placed there."
"Oh, that sounds great! We can take short breaks while watching the carnival, right Luke?" Norn responded energetically, clearly excited about the idea.
He nodded with a smile. Honestly, with the day they're going to have, having a place to rest and eat sounds great. They can even take a nap if they're tired without having to go back to the inn.
Flora stuck her head through the open window.
"I'm curious what you two are going to do once you get there. Anything specific in mind? I got my own plan in mind but it would be fun to challenge the Young Master at some games." she glanced at Luke, as he was the one who suggested the "outing".
"I was thinking of… asking if the Bards can recite a tale for me. They typically do commissioned shows at the very start if it's a popular one that people will like."
"Aha, since you need to be educated, and be from a Bard College to work there, the Bards should know most of Diacree's stories. I didn't know the Young Master likes Theatre. Maybe you should go watch the ones that recite the tales of past warriors since your eyes might be opened."
He didn't answer but he kept the idea at the back of his mind. Soon, the coach returned after checking them in at the front desk. They then set off for the carnival.
Luke wasn't speaking about any old common tale. It's one that Norn loved, the one she listened to every night since she was a child. It may come as a surprise to most if you heard what it was.
They travelled for half an hour through the empire and finally reached the carnival.
Things were quiet since it was still early morning and they've only barely set everything up. But there were workers standing around and some people who have already arrived before Luke and the others to watch the plays and play the games.
When the carriage came to a stop, Rudolph stood up, "I will go prepare the gazebo."
"Yeah, we'll stroll around for a bit." Luke said in reply.
The two of them exited the carriage after Rudolph. They were faced with giant tents and contraptions powered by magic. There were even wyverns and other passive monsters being instructed by their trainers to see if they understood the performances for today.
Norn didn't wait for Luke and ran inside first. Flora chuckled at that as she jumped off Royal and tied him to a fence. Luke and Flora entered the carnival together, with Luke looking at everything at least twice. Who could blame him for acting like a country-bumpkin when this is his first true carnival?
A line of throwing stalls stood closest to the entrance.
One had glass bottles arranged in pyramid stacks, though they weren't ordinary glass. Each bottle shimmered faintly with a protective charm so they wouldn't shatter too easily. A worker was currently recalibrating the enchantment by tapping a small crystal into the base of the stand.
Beside it stood a target board painted with concentric rings. The rings glowed faintly blue, then red, then gold. A sign read:
"Strike the center and win a blade."
The blades weren't real steel — just decorative swords with polished brass hilts — but the craftsmanship was convincing enough to tempt anyone with heroic fantasies.
Farther down was a strength game.
Not the usual hammer-and-bell.
This one involved channeling your energy—aura, mana, etc—into a crystal column. A participant would grip a metal handle, focus, and release energy upward through a conduit etched with magic formations. The stronger the burst, the higher the crystal would illuminate.
A worker tested it, and the light shot halfway up before sputtering.
He cursed under his breath and adjusted the glyphs.
Flora glanced at Luke.
"That one might bruise your pride since you can't release your energy, hehe."
Luke pretended not to hear her but he agreed inwardly since he still needed her sword just to release his aura.
Beyond that stood a curious setup: wooden ducks floating lazily along a shallow enchanted stream. They moved in uneven patterns, occasionally diving beneath the surface before popping up elsewhere.
Each duck had a number etched beneath it.
The sign read:
"Catch one. Fate decides your prize."
Norn was already crouched near it, watching the ducks disappear and reappear with fascination.
A little further in stood a ring-toss booth — except the pegs weren't stationary. They shifted positions subtly, as if the ground itself were breathing. The rings were carved from lightweight bone, slightly uneven, making their arc unpredictable.
A bored-looking attendant practiced tossing one himself, missing twice before landing it around a peg that promptly slid sideways.
He stared at it. "…I hate this job."
Near one of the larger tents was a puzzle table instead of a physical game.
Wooden blocks engraved with shifting symbols were scattered across a velvet cloth. The objective seemed to be aligning them into a stable spell circle. Each time a worker placed one incorrectly, the blocks gently repelled each other and rolled apart.
That one would attract scholars and mages later in the day.
There were also animal-based attractions still being prepped.
A small pen held shaggy, horned creatures that resembled miniature aurochs. A child nearby reached through the fence and was promptly licked across the face by one. The creature's trainer laughed.
Norn reappeared at Luke's side, cheeks slightly pink from the cold morning air.
"They have the floating lantern maze! I'm gonna go through there first once the games are open!" she said, pointing toward a partially enclosed section where dim magical lights hovered just above eye level. Even in daylight, the lanterns glowed with shifting hues — blue, amber, violet — rearranging themselves slowly as if forming corridors that would change throughout the day.
Only a few early guests wandered about, mostly nobles or families who preferred quiet before the rush. The air smelled faintly of sawdust, animal musk, and sugar glaze from vendors still setting up confection stalls.
Luke looked around again, slower this time.
Games of aim, strength, chance, and illusion.
All designed to test something small and harmless for fun.
He wondered, not for the first time, which kind he would choose if it actually mattered. The knight sounded interesting. But the description sounded quite ominous.
And beside him, Norn was already scanning the stalls, not for prizes judging by her watering mouth.
Rudolph prepared sandwiches when the two went back to the gazebo. They waited for about an hour, chatting about unimportant things. A large crowd was gathering in the road and more people set up their own gazebos near their spot.
A horn sounded in while they waited there, making the people turn towards the carnival. The next moment, fireworks went off and an announcer's gleeful voice resounded: "Let your skills be tested by our many challenging games, your eyes and ears feast on the stories there are to tell, or get your fortune told by our shamans—everyone can now enjoy the carnival!"
Like a horde of zombies, the people—nobles and commoners alike—flooded the carnival. As if they decided what to try out beforehand, lines were already forming. Luke and Norn, followed closely by Rudy, walked through the carnival, looking for the games they spotted earlier.
"Where should we go first?" Norn turned to Luke with a smile, "You invited me so it's your duty to lead, mister~"
"Actually, I need to go speak to the Bards first so you can enjoy yourself for a bit without me." After she said "suit yourself~", the two parted ways, with Rudy following after Norn at Luke's suggestion.
He made his way through the crowd of people to arrive at a red tent with yellow patterned decorations, clearly a tent meant for the rich. Magician Bards aren't rare but good storytellers, among them, are. The ones who the nobles like the most are granted a lavish life and are paid incredible amounts of money for events like these.
Nobles would pay good coin just to experience what their heroes lived through during their glory days.
Luke heard their laughter coming from inside as he parted the curtain.
"Excuse me, may I commission you?"
"Ah?" a dwarf sitting on a barrel was the first to notice Luke, "A commission, aye? Gonna need lots of coin, lad."
He wore a magician's robe, a rare sight for a dwarft.
"—Got our first commission, boss!?" someone shouted from inside as the laughter died down.
"Aye! Some noble's kid came without his parents—probably another tale about love and dragon slaying and whatnot since youngsters these days don't care about the rich history of our continent."
Three other individuals approached them, all fitted in their proper attire for the event.
"Damn, I would've liked to talk about anything other than some lord who's heavily romanticized because he paid writers to put non-sensical heroic nonsense in his biography novel."
"True, I didn't study for three years just to tell the same boring story to some halfwit—no offense to you, young master. It's just we're tired of it all."
"Ah, I understand." He managed to slip that in as they kept complaining.
"Aye, where's the love for heroes who started from nothing and made names for themselves? With the Emperor's name day coming up, we should expect to tell even more boring tales to clapping trolls like those nobles."
"Uhm, may I start now?" Luke took out the bag of coins.
"Ah, go ahead, boy." The dwarf said as he took the purse, "Tell me your name."
"Luke von Berkley, son of Duke Berkley."
"!"
"Oh! Lord Hero!" the bards stopped their chatter and instantly gave him their attention when he mentioned his name, "It will be our honor to recite a tale for you!"
He smiled wryly, "You are too kind…"
"Nonsense! If it's a tale the Hero personally asks of us, it will no doubt be one that shall inspire the hearts of many young boys and girls who wish to follow you in your footsteps. No more of those gaudy boasts meant to rouse ale-soaked fools. We shall sing something worthy of your name!"
The others agreed with the passionate dwarf. Luke was quite taken aback by their passion for this job. He thought they liked telling every story since it will make them money. This is a business that will never run out of clients, after all. How else would you relive battles of the past?
"Please speak yer mind, Hero." Another urged as their eyes were glued to him.
"…This is one of the oldest stories on Diacree—a story about a woman who watches an honorable knight fight, lose, defends the honor of others and endures hardship herself, yet never loses faith in the ideals he embodies. A tale of courage, sacrifice, and the strength of those who stand beside heroes. He was also the first man who was given the title 'Hero'."
A tale dating back to before the Intermid Border even existed and before even the Demon-Human war.
The bards looked at each other, to see what everyone thought.
The dwarf clapped his hands with a bellow, "The Tale of Sir Lukuin, the man who courted a thousand Valkyries, kahahahaha!"
**
Luke led Norn towards the stage after finding her arguing with a vendor over how she was scammed. Still fuming, she mumbled with the food in her mouth while being led to the stage.
There were already people gathering but the two managed to grab front seats.
The bards began to strike their instruments, their voices weaving together in harmony. "Hear now the tale of Sir Lukuin and his squire!" they called, and the stage was set with painted backdrops of towering castles and distant battlefields. Puppets and illusions danced across the boards, showing the knight in shining armor standing in front of a girl who fell to the ground—the protagonist and eye-witness of his legend—and faced off against a rampaging beast.
The girl was called "Bjar" and she became Lukuin's squire, unthinkable of a woman back then. Many call this one of the oldest "Damsel in distress" tales since it dates back almost 500 years.
The dwarf's voice boomed, "A man who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth—the son of a Marquis, no less! See him uphold the honor and vows of a true knight! See him charge, fearless! His sword strikes with the courage of a hundred hearts!"
The halfling added, "Though the enemy is mighty, and the lands shake beneath their claws, Sir Lukuin never falters even when it breaks his arm—even when it broke both arms! He grabs his sword between his teeth and stands between the beast and his family's fief and village! His armor and horse were mighty, making others believe he was just a spoiled noble brat, however that couldn't be further from the truth! He stands to shield the innocent—whether man, woman, child, or elder—his honor a beacon against despair! It was a time when true valor and honor was almost never upheld by the knights of that period."
A vision appeared on the stage, showing villagers hiding in terror, their faces pale with fear, yet as Lukuin fought, their eyes widened in awe. "Look!" one bard shouted, "How the people's hearts are lifted by his courage! Even the smallest child whispers prayers for his safety, and the elders nod, knowing this knight bears the weight of justice upon his shoulders!"
The music shifted, somber and tender, as the play depicted the moment Bjar carried Lukuin to the village on her shoulders, albeit with difficulty as the villagers cheered.
The scene changed again, this time with Bjar standing next to him, after she vowed to help him on his journey. He may have been a great and kind man, but he was not without his faults and weaknesses, weaknesses she wanted to make up for.
Lukuin tended to the wounded, offered aid to strangers, and defended those without voice and she accompanied him, watching his failures, victories and how he protected the honor of others.
"Not for glory, not for riches!" the halfling called. "But for the call of Melis, and the simple truth of doing right!"
The scene changed to one where Lukuin was knighted by his lord for his bravery in fighting for the people when adventurers—who only fought monsters for coin, didn't lift a finger.
"Oh, man! Hearing this story gives me goosebumps every time!" one of the spectators said excitedly.
"The Gods smiled down kindly upon this man!" the show continued, "Even their hearts were captivated by him! But he could not be granted a blessing by the Gods as he was not destined for it!"
Another said, "He was but an ordinary man so he also had his failures." The scene then shifted to him on his knees, bloodied after being beaten by several noble knights for daring to speak up and fight over their behavior!"
"His head was thankfully not sent rolling that day for his offense."
"However!" the scene changed to him with his head lowered in front of his squire, "She cried and cried and cried, asking why he would risk his life to stand up to all wrongdoing when he could do more good when alive than if he were a corpse! Sir Lukuin took her words to heart and the two made a promise!"
It changed to them touching their thumbs together, a magic circle surrounding their fingers—a magic oath, the strongest of promises.
"If ever I mean to forfeit my life for others, may it be when it can change the lives of many—he spoke the words, as if whispering to a lover. But then she said—"
"I will do everything in my power to ensure such a fate does not befall you." Her voice spread through the crowd, everyone listening silently.
As the illusion began to thin, the dwarf stepped forward. His voice was no longer booming for spectacle but was steadier.
"Do not mistake this for a tale of romance," he said. "Admiration is easy. Glory is loud. What bound them was neither. It was a promise made before either of them understood how heavy such words could become."
Behind him, the fading image of Lukuin and Bjar riding side by side lingered.
"If he had fallen," the dwarf continued, "many villages would have suffered in the years that followed. His strength carried more than his own life. But had she fallen first, the loss would not have been measured in villages or battles. It would have been measured in the man he became afterward."
The illusion shifted faintly, showing Lukuin older, wearier, his armor scarred from decades of use. Bjar remained beside him, not behind him, not overshadowed by him.
"They were not equal in renown," the halfling added gently, "but they were equal in necessity. One carried the blade. The other carried the reason it was drawn."
The scene flowed forward through years in a series of quiet transitions. Lukuin was awarded medals for defending settlements abandoned by mercenaries who fought only for coin. Bjar stood at the edge of the ceremony, unnoticed by the cheering crowd but unmoving in her place.
Later came the wars against the demons that crossed the sea. Valkyries were said to have descended in those days, drawn by the knight whose name had spread across kingdoms, across realms. Some claimed they swore themselves to his cause. Others insisted the gods themselves had taken notice.
In the final vision, Lukuin and Bjar rode together toward a battlefield near the land that would one day be sealed by the Intermid Border. Light and steel clashed. The illusion fractured into brightness, then into nothing.
"No record tells us what became of them," the dwarf said at last. "Some believe they were taken beyond the mortal realm. Others think they simply vanished where the maps end. What remains certain is only this: the oath they forged shaped the years that followed."
The stage returned to bare wood and canvas.
Luke found himself glancing at Norn.
Her eyes were bright, as they always were when the story reached its end, even though she must have heard it countless times before.
His hands tightened slowly at his sides, the echo of the tale settling somewhere deeper than he expected.
The legend of Lukuin faded but its continued impact, did not.