Broken Tower Saga: The First Swordsman

A year passed since Vani's mother died, and like the radiating sun after the storm, Vani finally grew from her mother's death. She was now a student under Lord Salvatore, learning the path of medicine.

After her mother's death, Lord Salvatore adopted the poor girl, though Lady Heathen disapproved of this decision, giving a valid reason that it would waste his important time. She tried to convince him and send Vani to a well-reputed orphanage, but the lord still took the poor girl under his wing, saying there was some connection between them. 

At that time, he did not know where it came from, but when he learned about it. It was too late. 

And he did not only take Vani under the whim. Vani was quite talented and earnest and after finding out she had talent in healing, it only added to the liking of the lord. Lord Salvatore might be a kind man, but he would not teach anyone if they did not possess talent in his eyes. Even if he adopted Vani, if she did not have the talent, he would leave the job to someone else.

In the year, the pandemic did not rise further as they have created an antidote for it; though it did not work on everyone. And if the disease progressed further, it did not work on anyone, but even with that, the situation had turned to the steadier side. 

Then the day came when Lord Salvatore had to leave, and he brought Vani with him to the citadel. He did not want to waste Vani's talent, so he admitted her immediately to the Academia of Mahasayer.

"Academia of Mahasayers?" someone voiced out in the crowd. "Never heard of it."

"It was a place where they used to teach the way around mahasaying," the bard said and drank another mouthful of water. The container was almost about to end. "But now, there is no academia here. They have found another way to train budding mahasayer, so they did not even bother to establish another academy." 

The way the bard talks as if he was certain of the happenings.

He stood up after that, and walked in circles. "Do you know there are some people, or rather some blood, who were blessed by Maha?" he asked, looking at the sky. He did not expect any answer from the audience. "Maha blessed their blood with his power, and they enjoy the glory of blood for millennials. Lord Salvatore's blood belonged to this group and so did Vani's. It may sound unfair, and it is unfair to some degree, but at least their ancestors did something of great virtue to gain it.

"Vani continued to study in academia with all her heart. After her mother's death, her only goal was to help the poor who could not save themselves. And there she was, too focused and forgot to relieve the new family she had. 

"On the other side, Lord Salvatore was still working on the antidote. Being among the best of his peers with his out of the box thinking; he knew something was wrong with the diseases. Even though they had found how this disease was contaminated, they failed to find the origin of it, and his gut feeling told him it could create a disaster far worse than what already transpired. 

"He was so busy in his research that the Lord even forgot about his subject and Lady Heathen and whatever she was doing in those times. He did hear a few rumours and most of them were bad, but he did not believe them. How could he believe Lady Heathen was scheming something behind his back? He guessed it was all from the ones who could not get on her good sides.

"The Lady Heathen he knew was not someone like in the rumours. He even felt bad about not spending time with her. His youth was already gone, and in that time he wasted the youth of Lady Heathen as well, though she still looked as beautiful as the first day he had seen her.

"But in those times, he never forgot to check the progress Vani made in academia. They had exchanged many letters each week, and talked about all things from medical research to her new environment. He was glad to learn Vani had some innate healing talent and could not wait to see it with his own eyes. She would finish her tutelage there in a few months, and by the speed, she was progressing, it was certain she would overtake his accomplishment in her lifetime. 

"A couple of months passed, and Lord Salvatore did not participate in any more social gatherings or balls. He had locked himself in his lab and, apart from the meal twice a day, he never left that place. He had found something—something horrifying and disastrous. 

"Then a day came, when he got the news he was most afraid of. The epidemic hit again, and this time it was far more dangerous than before. And worse, it was growing with each day. If this continued on, this thing could bring calamity and even destroy humanity. He was feeling chills in his lab while outside it was far worse. 

"An overwhelming panic overtook Shaidar 'al Galai. Even though millions died before, this time, the disease contained inside the citadel as well. The old antidote was not working in the least. The system broke in only a couple of months.

"Lord Salvatore contacted his old colleagues immediately to who he had been sending his research to, but no reply came from them. He yelled at his servants for not doing what he told them to do, even though he knew it was not their fault. And after a couple of such exchanges, he found he had changed. 

"He saw a new emotion in the servants apart from the obedience. Fear. They were frightened of him, and when he looked at himself in the mirror, he found out why. The image that reflected on the mirror was him, but it held far less resemblance than he remembered. The veins all over his body bulged, and there was no white spot in his eyes, it was all red. 

"He counted his heartbeat and found it was racing twice or thrice than normal. Lord Salvatore destroyed the mirror at once and jumped to find medicine for him. He did not see when the door of his lap opened again, and Lady Heathen came inside. She was as beautiful as before, as if time had no effect on her.

"She came to help the Lord, but her expressed stall, looking at the frightened man. Tears burst out like a river from her eyes and she hugged her lord. The Lord cried too and expressed his regret that he would not be able to spend more time with her. In just a few minutes, his legs were paralyzed, while his lips and tongue twitched every time he tried to speak.

"Lord Salvatore guessed his time had come, and barely expressed his last wish to Lady Heathen. He told her all the passwords of the locker in the lab and wanted her to bring all his research papers to Vani. He expressed that Vani would know what she had to do with it. Even though Lady Heathen was a healer like him, she only used supernatural means, so Vani was the only one he could trust.

"Lady Heathen was reluctant to let go of him, but after he spoke about the importance of the matter, she finally left him to die alone with his research paper." 

The bard stopped playing and finished the last bit of the water. He released a deep breath and continued. "If everything went alright from here, then Lady Heathen would deliver the research paper in immediacy to Vani, who would finish in time and save millions of lives while still failing to save Lord Salvatore. But time is cruel most of the time."

The bard stopped as if the story was finished, though all the audience had reluctance in their face. 

"What happened after that?" a kid asked. "Did Vani save everyone?" 

With the kid joined a few more voices. Asking what happened to lord Salvatore and Lady Heathen? Even though they did not hold any bit of empathy to the lords now, they still felt heartbreak hearing the story.

"Looks like I have to pull a line of conclusion to the story," the bard said. "Vani did save many people that time, but she could not save everyone. Like her mother, she could not save her father, and as for Lady Heathen? She did encounter her on a later date, but the relationship between them turned into something else. Lady Heathen was not a person Vani thought she was, nor did Lord Salvatore think she was. 

"If only the lord was a little more prudent than he might not have to die like that. Millions of people did not have to die like that, and Vani. . ." the bard stopped. "Maybe this place would be different from what it is now if Lord Salvatore directly gave the research papers to Vani."