Chapter 2: Towards the Heaven
The sky looked almost like it was in ablaze, painted skillfully by the greatest artist in existence. It was the time of the sunset and as Willett was watching that grand orb of light that brought life into the world simply by existing, he felt like that this was one of the most beautiful sunsets he had ever seen. Was it a sign of something significant, he wasn't sure. The moment felt mellow and his heart was filled with serenity that was somehow able to keep his anxious feelings at bay. Ever since the day when the Emperor of Celestial Beasts had chosen him and left the mark of a dragon on his face, his head had been infested with worrisome thoughts that no one else could understand. Except his friend Dahildi. She always seemed to grasp whatever was troubling his mind, which he was very grateful about. Sometimes Willett wondered how two human beings could have formed such a sturdy bond between each other; he had tried to comprehend it many times throughout the years, but always failed to understand. Often it felt like that he was closer to Dahildi than to any of his family members. She just understood him in a way no one else could.
“Man, what a beautiful sunset”, Dahildi spoke as she dreamily stared into the horizon, swaying her legs a little bit.
She and Willett were sitting on the edge of one of the castle's walls, side by side, contently watching how the sun was offering the world the last bits of its golden rays before going into slumber for the night. This had been their favorite spot ever since they were children. The magical sight in front of them never failed to amaze them, no matter how much older they were growing. Maybe they would come here to watch the sun set and rise even when they both would be old and wrinkly. Though this idea caused yet another ache to find its way into Willett's heart, because he didn't know what kind of turn his life would get once his apprenticeship in Heaven would be over. It would be painful to get separated from Dahildi, for sure. But he immediately pushed all the bad thoughts to deeper corners of his mind and let himself relax for a moment, being in this moment with Dahildi.
“You know, Will…” There was a little bit of hesitation and shyness in her voice; she knew this wasn't a fun topic to talk about and she was aware that it would shatter the tranquility of the moment. “I'm really going to miss you. Like, a lot. You're my best friend, my partner in crime, my bro.”
“Yeah…” Willett scratched the back of his head. “I'm going to miss you too, Hildi.”
“Do you think we can keep in touch?” Dahildi asked quietly. “I mean, it would suck, like really suck, if you had to stay in Heaven for a decade and never hear anything about us, and we wouldn't know how you're doing.”
Willet sighed. “I don't know… But it's surely going to be one of the first things I do, to check if it's possible to stay in contact with you guys.”
It had been a little over two weeks since Willett had got his mark. During this time, as he had got over the first shock of being selected, he had started to accept that this was where the flow of life was taking him. It didn't sound as bad that he was going to attend Belstarr Academy as he had had some time to digest this idea. The uncertainty still plagued his mind, however, and probably would continue to do so for a while. It was hard to comprehend that someone like him was chosen.
He decided to say it out loud to his friend. “You know, it's so weird that Emperor marked me. I'm just a simple guy with no talent in anything. Out there is plenty of other people who would be more suitable to go Belstarr Academy.”
“Oh, Will…” Dahildi shook her head. “You're so dumb, for real. I wish you could see yourself the way I do. You're amazing and you have a big heart. You're making the world a better place simply by existing and honestly, I think that once you get your magical abilities, the world will be even more grateful that you're in it. I believe, from the bottom of my heart, that the Emperor saw all the potential hiding within you. You may think now that you're not good at anything particular, but who knows, maybe you're destined to become a great mage! Trust me, Will, I think Belstarr Academy will do good for you.”
“Wow…” That was all Willett managed to get out of his mouth. Dahildi had done it again, making him feel better about himself. “Maybe you're right. Thanks, Hildi.”
Dahildi wrapped her arm around him and partly hugged him. “You're welcome, buddy.”
A wide smile spread on Willett's face. “I'm glad you're part of my life.”
“Hey, you're the one who invited me to it!” Dahildi exclaimed and ruffled his already messy hair.
Dahildi's family came from a faraway place, searching for a better place to live. Drought and famine had forced them out of their homeland and eventually they had found their way to Swarrendel. They didn't intend to stay long, but they kept postponing their departure until they one day realized that they should as well make Swarrendel their new home. It was a small quiet place, which they found appealing. Dahildi and Willett had been little children at that time, neither of them had seen ten summers yet. Coincidentally, they had met on the streets of Swarrendel when Dahildi had gone out to search for other children to play with. She had then encountered Willett who had been hanging out with a small group of other kids, and of course, they had invited her to play with them. They had been having so much fun that they continued to play with each other day after day and this really had helped Dahildi to get acquainted with her new hometown. She and Willett grew exceptionally fond of each other over time and they began to hang around more, just the two of them, and their friendship just kept flourishing over the years. Eventually the friendship with other children of Swarrendel faded away as they grew up, but the bond between Willett and Dahildi never faltered.
From the bottom of his heart, Willett hoped that their friendship would survive even his apprenticeship in Heaven. Though, now that he was thinking about it, he was sure it would last; it was silly to even think otherwise. It had been proved time and time again throughout the years that their bond was stronger than anything else he knew.
Willett wrapped his arm around Dahildi as well and together they remained there, sitting side by side on the wall, staring at the beautiful sky. They didn't speak anything for a while, they simply enjoyed their shared moment together, because it was uncertain when they could be doing this again.
Would he see the same sun in Heaven, Willett wondered at that moment. In any case, he would find a place where to gaze at that golden orb and hope that Dahildi would do the same at the same exact time, and perhaps, they could feel connected that way. Maybe he wouldn't feel alone in a strange place if they could do that.
Days were slowly passing by, but everything seemed to stay normal, like Willett hadn't even experienced anything that had changed his life for the next ten years. His everyday life continued to flow as usual, he still served princess Rysara and spent time with Dahildi and his family. Strangers on the streets of Swarrendel weren't giving him that much looks anymore because of the mark of the dragon, either, they had got accustomed to seeing his face. Occasionally people were still curiously looking at him, but the amount had decreased significantly. Everything appeared so ordinary that it was strange. Willett wasn't sure what to think about it. But he allowed himself to enjoy his regular life, because he knew that it wouldn't last for long.
He wasn't knowledgeable about the process of how he would get to Heaven or when. It was giving him a little bit of more anxiety, because not being aware of what you're supposed to do was something he considered dreadful. Nobody could help to ease his mind, either. Swarrendel was a simple settlement filled with simple and humble folks who weren't well-informed with matters other than their own expertise. It was likely that no one from Swarrendel had been chosen by the Emperor before Willett, so naturally, no one knew what it was like when you got the chance to see the land of Celestial Beasts. No one could help Willett get prepared for what was about to come. He had no choice but to live in uncertainty.
But things have the tendency to turn out alright in a way or another, and so it happened one night that Willett got some peace for his anxious mind.
He had gone to bed after a long day just like usual, and soon after his head had hit the pillow he drifted to sleep. His subconscious mind had conjured up a strange dream sequence, but it was nothing out of ordinary. But at some point during the night, something else replaced his weird chaotic dreams, something that felt like a dream, but definitely wasn't. He could see a pure white rabbit-like creature, surrounded by purple haze, and somehow it felt like this was a window to another place in existence, it wasn't fabricated by his subconsciousness, no, it felt like he was wide awake and experiencing this moment for real.
Then the rabbit started to speak to him with a beautiful and resonant voice: “Greetings, Willett. I am here to let you know that soon you will be transported to Heaven since you have been chosen by our Emperor to attend in Belstarr Academy. Exactly one week from now on, in the afternoon, head to the center of Swarrendel. You will get to ascend Heaven with one of us. We will look forward seeing you and we will offer you guidance once you reach the grounds of our academy. Goodbye, for now.”
For the rest of the night, Willett continued to see his regular dreams that made no sense at all.
When he woke up the next morning, he had forgotten all about his weird adventures in the dreamland. But the words of the rabbit had stuck to his head, like they had been carved into his brain, and thus being impossible to just wash away by awaken consciousness, the fate regular dreams had to face. Willett scratched his head a little bit, repeating the words he had received last night in his head. Somehow, the rabbit appearing to him while he was sleeping made the deal with being chosen to Belstarr Academy more real. Now that he knew he would be leaving Earth behind in a week, he could feel an uncomfortable lump in his stomach; partly it was because soon he had to say goodbye to his family and Dahildi, and partly it was this strange anticipation he had started to feel as his curiosity towards Heaven had grown.
Willett got out of his bed, stretching his limbs a little bit. He glanced towards the window in his room, noting that it was a cloudy day. Maybe it will rain later. He started to get prepared for the day; washed his face, put more suitable clothes on, and then headed out of his room, taking the stairs to reach the lower floor of his home. He had some news to tell his family.
It was common that his family had gathered in the kitchen area before him and this day wasn't an exception. There they were, all three of them, eating breakfast and chattering cheerfully. As Willett's family noticed him coming down the stairs, his mother Hanalera got up from her seat in order to pour some hot tea for him. Meanwhile Willett made his way to the table and sat down to join the family's breakfast.
“Here you go, dear”, his mother said as she placed a cup full of hot tea in front of him. She also gave him a slice of bread with some cheese; the bread was freshly baked, Willett noticed and enjoyed this little joy of life.
“Thanks, mom”, Willett said and started eating. He decided that he would let everyone finish their breakfast before bringing up the news he had in mind.
He remained quiet while his parents were discussing something about a threat of bandits that have been terrorizing the roads near a neighboring town, pondering whether they had a reason to be worried. Willett was only half listening to their talk, finishing eating his bread while his parents continued to have this conversation about the same topic, and occasionally he would sip his tea as he waited for the perfect opportunity to talk about the message he had got from Celestial Beasts in his dream. Mioran was being her annoying self and was rocking her seat, though she stopped doing that once their father snapped at her. Then she just got settled with just humming something out of tune and swayed her legs, occasionally kicking Willett who tried his best to not pay attention to his sister's irritating behavior.
Eventually it seemed like his parents were done with their conversation. Hanalera had started to clean the table when Willett decided that now was the time.
“Um, mom, dad…” Then he glanced at his sister. “Mioran. I have something important to tell you.”
“Yes, dear?” Hanalera said, still immersed in her task.
Willett took a deep breath. He had to say it now. “I know now when I'll be leaving.”
It felt strange to say those words aloud. It was like they didn't belong to his mouth to begin with.
Hanalera stopped what she was doing and now the eyes of all of Willett's family members were on him. It was almost like his words had frozen time.
His father Ranoswan was the first one to find his voice. “Oh? That is… good to hear. When will that be?”
“In a week. I… I got a message of some sort in my dream. A Celestial Beast told me that I'll be fetched by one of them in a week.”
Everyone remained silent again, Willett's family trying to digest the information they had just received. Of course they had been aware that this would happen eventually, but sometimes, even if you've been having time to prepare for something, it still manages to hit your face. Now that they knew when he'll be leaving, it somehow made the situation feel more true, that their beloved Willett was really about to depart Earth and they probably wouldn't see each other for a long time.
But Willett's parents were also aware that although their son would be gone from home for a long period of time, this was also a happy thing to happen. Their faces got decorated with joyful and warm smiles as they looked at their son, being genuinely proud of him. And in that moment, their smiles were something Willett really needed and he smiled back. Mioran wasn't really comprehending the ongoing situation – maybe she was too young for that – and just resumed being an annoyance with her chair. But Willett had a hunch that once he would leave, she would miss him too, probably annoying their parents with questions about where her big brother was and when he would come home.
Oh, how he loved his family. He would truly miss them in Heaven.
The following week felt strange. At first, everything seemed like nothing was out of ordinary, Willett's life just continued like usual. He hadn't really internalized that he would leave it all behind in a week. But nonetheless, he tried his best to spend as much time as possible with his family and Dahildi, since who knows when they would be allowed to do that again. The time seemed to march forward slowly, each day feeling longer than the last one. And as the days passed by, a lump made of nervousness kept growing in Willett's stomach. It probably was normal, he had tried to reason with himself, and that other people attending the academy would feel the same way as he did. So he had tried his best to ignore it and just enjoy his last days on Earth, shoving aside any negative emotions.
Then the inevitable came: the day of his departure. The dreaded day when everything would change.
It was afternoon when Willett was anxiously standing at the center of his hometown. His whole family had gathered there, as well as Dahildi. Willett's eyes wandered all around that part of Swarrendel, as if he tried to memorize every little detail. He gazed at the beautiful fountain that decorated the very center of the town, the streets paved with stone that were a little uneven in some places and being like that made them perfect in an imperfect way, and all the houses that were cozy little homes for ordinary families like his one. He really started to feel sentimental at that moment and he took deep breaths, just to breathe in that clean air of his home. The minutes were passing, but nothing was happening yet, which only made Willett feel more anxious. Prolonging this just caused more misery to him.
“Look!” Mioran then suddenly exclaimed and pointed her finger at the sky. “In the air! Something is coming!”
Everyone's attention shifted at the sky, to look at the direction where Mioran was pointing. Something was indeed coming. It looked like a dark being with a long body, but it was impossible to tell from a distance what it actually was. It was flying effortlessly and with a high speed and it was clear that it was coming towards Swarrendel. Nobody said anything as everyone was focused on trying to identify the flying creature. But as it came closer, eventually Willett's eyes managed to distinguish what the being was.
It was a dragon, covered in dark scales that were shimmering with the light of the afternoon sun, making it seem like rainbows were dancing on those scales. It had a long serpent-like body and light blue mane and tufts in some places of its body and it carried antlers on its head. Willett realized that this dragon resembled a lot like the legendary Emperor of Celestial Beasts, however, this individual wasn't quite as magnificent – if Willett remembered correctly, for he had seen a picture of the Emperor in a book a long time ago. But still, this dragon was gorgeous as well and perhaps the most incredible thing that had ever made its way to the humble settlement of Swarrendel.
The Celestial Beast was lowering its altitude as its flight was nearing end. When it was gliding above the houses of Swarrendel, it gained quite a lot of curious and bewildered looks from the people, which wasn't surprising, considering that they had never witnessed anything like this in their lives. A stream of people followed the dragon to the town center, wanting to take a better look at this mysterious creature. Soon there was a crowd of people gathered at the center and Willett and his group weren't the only ones standing there anymore.
The dragon made a few twists and turns in the air elegantly, then descending on the ground very softly. The folks who were at the center at that moment gasped in delight and whispered something between each other. The dragon didn't seem bothered by this by any means. It just shifted its gaze towards Willett, and he noticed it had very bright green eyes and as it stared at him, he got a feeling that the Celestial Beast was seeing something inside him, something he – or any other human – couldn't see.
“You must be Willett”, the dragon spoke, its voice sounding something a most beautiful maiden would have. “As you know, I am here to take you to Heaven. My name is Adelvia. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Willett felt extremely nervous. This was it. This was the moment when he would leave everything familiar and what he loved behind, jumping to the uncertain future which he had no idea what it would be like.
He gulped a little. “Can I… Can I leave my goodbyes?”
Adelvia nodded, tenderness sparkling in those green eyes. “Of course.”
Willett turned around to face his family and Dahildi. He spread his arms as widely as he could and stepped towards those people he loved more than anything else in this world. He and his family and his best friend gathered into a big pile of hugs, holding Willett tightly at the center. He hoped that the love he felt towards them during this short-lived gesture would flow into their hearts and they could hold it close and remember how much he cared about them, even though he would be far away.
“I love you all so much”, he said with a quiet voice, but the words were strong. “I'm going to miss you all. Yes, even you, Mioran.”
“And we all love and miss you too, sweetie”, Hanalera said and squeezed her son tightly. Then she put her hands on his shoulders, smiling gently. “Please, take care of yourself, okay?”
Willett nodded slightly, and he knew that his tears weren't far behind. “I will, mom.”
As his mother retreated a little bit, Dahildi then stepped forward and playfully punched Willett to his arm. “I'm sure you'll be fine. But still, promise me that you will come back as a great mage, okay bro?”
“You bet”, Willett responded. “You'll be the first one to know.”
“That's another promise you have to keep”, Dahildi said, laughing a little bit. “But seriously, I wish you all the good luck there is!”
Next Willett turned to face his father. He was wearing a smile on his face as well, but Willett could see some sadness hiding in his eyes. He gave a few pats to Willett's back and said: “I love you, son. Don't forget that. If you're ever having a tough time, just think about us. We'll be here for you.”
“Thanks, dad”, Willett spoke quietly. “I love you too.”
The last one left was Mioran. But at that moment, she seemed more interested in Adelvia, perhaps thinking could she pet the dragon. Mioran wasn't really paying attention to the emotional situation going on, she just stared with big curious eyes at the Celestial Beast. Of course she would be more interested in a strange creature that had just come out of the sky rather than focus on the boring farewells her family was having. But that's just how she was… It really warmed Willett's heart and his smile grew wider as he looked at his little sister. When he would see her the next time, she would be an adult woman… It was a strange thought.
“Take care, Mio”, Willett said to her and ruffled her hair. “Look after mom and dad for me, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah”, Mioran replied, pretty much brushing aside what he had said, for she was still more interested in the dragon.
Willett shook his head a little bit. Surely she would miss him when he was gone. Willett turned around to face Adelvia. He had said his goodbyes, there was no reason to prolong this anymore. He stepped closer to the Celestial Beast, at the same time stepping away from his loved ones.
“Do not worry, I will not let you fall”, Adelvia reassured him. “Just grasp my antlers.”
A little hesitantly and awkwardly Willett climbed onto the Celestial Beasts back and with stiff hands he took a hold of Adelvia's antlers, just like he had been instructed. He had no idea what flying would feel like – most people didn't know that, anyway – but while he wasn't particularly afraid of heights, he still felt terrified at that moment.
“Ready to go?” Adelvia asked him.
“Y-yeah”, Willett stuttered a little bit.
“Here we go.”
Adelvia leapt forward slightly, and glided above Willett's family and Dahildi, then the dragon turned around and started to fly in the opposite direction instead. Willett dared to peek over his shoulder and saw that his family and Dahildi were waving at him. However, they weren't the only ones; some other folks of Swarrendel were waving their hands as well. It gave Willett a bit of an odd, but pleasant feeling. He felt how Adelvia was starting to build more speed and he set his gaze forward and was clinging onto the Celestial Beast like a stubborn burdock.
He was on his way to Belstarr Academy. He would soon see what Heaven was like. But the tears he had held back earlier started to stain his face. He was flying towards his future, but for that, he had to leave his loved ones behind. However the gentle wind caressed his cheeks, wiping the tears away. Because he knew that in his heart, he could always hold them close to him, no matter how far away he would be.
