Back in Varland's capital city, northern area...

Moving faster than most well trained people, you reached the formerly wounded old man in minutes. You chuckled when you saw that he was petting Shingetsu, scratching behind his ear as he purred happily. You watched the scene for a moment, smiling, but then cleared your throat to make your presence known.

"Oh, hello!" The man said, still with a beaming smile himself despite what had happened mere minutes before "What a majestic creature. I never thought I'd get the chance to pet one" He chuckled.

"Sometimes, not even I believe it" You replied "I know people have a bunch of wild ideas as to how I got him, but the honest truth is that I found him abandoned in a forest on one of my missions, 6 years ago"

Upon hearing this, the old man looked you up and down and raised an eyebrow "Excuse me if I'm too nosy, comes with the age I guess... But how old are you again?"

Knowing where this was headed, you chuckled nonchalantly before answering "I turned 18 last month" Then you took a deep breath.
"Yes, I was 12 years old at the time. There is some truth to my group having been actual child soldiers earlier, as much as the moniker bothers me. Been fending for myself for a long time"

"Oh. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked" The old man apologized and looked away in shame.

"Don't worry, I don't mind" You patted him on the shoulder and handed him over the sac of coins that he had been robbed of.

This old man wasn't the typical frail one most people would've expected. He was old, yes, but in a way you couldn't tell if he was in his 70's or older. He was a bit shorter than average, with a stockier build, the fact that he still had noticeable muscular mass hinted at a lifetime of hard physical work, while his thick, white moustache and beard looked more befitting of an old master in the magic arts.

"Sorry this happened, we're trying to keep crime to a minimum. We were supposed to have the day off but eh, this was hardly work anyway" You said and were about to leave when he spoke again.

"By the way... that spell you used... I had never seen anything like it. What kind of Mage are you?" He asked.

"Hmm?" Something about the way he spoke piqued your curiosity "I'm a Light Mage, but I get that a lot. I don't think people have seen one in a very long time... Why do you ask, if you don't mind?"

"Oh, it's nothing much" The old man chuckled "It's just that I met many Elemental Mages, a long time ago. We actually fought together back in the day. I met all of the Elemental Clans there were: Fire, Water, Thunder, Earth, Wind... and even the Dark Mages" He whispered, like a kid telling a secret he was supposed to keep. You raised an eyebrow.

"You met the clans of old?"

"Yup. We fought together on the Third War against the giants. I was in my 20's back then" He laughed as he reminisced of those days.

"Wait... you fought against the giants?"

"Yes, sir" The man replied jovially "I know what you're thinking. Lots of people say that those creatures were myth and legend, but no, oh no my young lad... They were real, as real as these old bones of mine are. And they weren't just bone! Flesh and blood, just like us... only much, much bigger. Truly terrifying. But the Allied Army of Solvsverd and the Mages managed to triumph even over such mighty, terrifying beasts"

"Whoah" You were genuinely amazed and looked again at the old man. He didn't look that old, but then again, you couldn't really tell his exact age.

"I never saw any Light Mages though" He then said "Not even remnants of the clan. I would've thought they went extinct a much longer time ago but it looks like some still remain" He added, trying to soften the blow.

"That's a bit of a disappointment, but I was half expecting that. There's no recorded history of them, and I've looked" You sighed and shrugged. However, the fact that this man still fought in that incredible war from a century ago was mind blowing, even if he didn't get to meet anyone from your ancient clan. There was a brief moment of solemn silence.

"Sorry, where are my manners? My name is Gudmund, of Varland obviously. Captain Gudmund of the Imperial Elite Corps back in the day... but they usually call me an old geezer these days" He said "Can't blame them. I have seen many, many seasonal cycles... one hundred and twenty of them actually"

Your eyes widened more in amazement at this revelation but you reacted somewhat quickly "Blaise, Blaise of the Light Mages. Wow, you seem to be in excellent health"

"Thank you. I wish my reflexes were as sharp as they were back then though. I was only able to push my great grandson out of the way but I couldn't avoid getting stabbed by that petty thief" He sighed "What people are willing to do for just a bunch of coins..." He lamented, shaking his head.

"Poverty is not an excuse. You can still choose to earn them honorably" You said, and Gudmund could see in your eyes that you spoke from the heart "By the way, would you like us to escort you back home?" You said, glancing at your trust giant cat.

"Oh no. I was leaving home! I was heading to the church to donate this to charity. It might not be much, but me and my family hope it helps"

You nodded and even did a slight bow in respect. People choosing to be charitable or good even when there was no incentive for it was very rare, and you always respected that. With that, you waved goodbye as the old veteran went on his way. You wondered how many things he must have seen, having lived such a long life. The fact that he knew of the Mage Clans and met them in person was beyond amazing in itself, and to know that he participated in the last war against the giants, the one that saw them gone for good from the land was even more awe-inspiring. While a lot of people these days disregarded them as legend, most of those who didn't still believed giants to be a thing of the past, exterminated almost a century ago...

As a prestigious captain of the Imperial Elites, it was a bit strange that he retired here rather than a fancier, bigger city, but then again you felt that maybe he was done with the action and adventures of his youth and just wanted somewhere nice and peaceful to raise a family and live out the rest of his days.

Meanwhile, in a tavern, elsewhere in northern Varland...

Among the many regulars who were enjoying their drinks after a long day of work, or during a break for many others, were a group of guys that looked much younger than the rest. In fact, if they weren't so widely known the barkeep wouldn't have let them in, as it was forbidden by the Duke's law to give "children", anyone under the age of 20, anything stronger than small beer.

But then again, the mercenaries were technically outsiders so it wasn't even quite explicit if the full extent of the law applied or not. In any case, at least the group wasn't entirely unsupervised, as there was one adult with them, though, now that they had been there for a while, it looked like the so called "children" were more responsible than their supposed chaperone.

"So, what do you guys think Blaise is up to on our day off?" A boy with orange-reddish hair and green eyes asked before sipping some beer from a mug.

"Well, I dunno Pete, but he's not having a drink for sure" A dark skinned, tall and thin guy replied, chugging his own mug.

"You know, Caesar... for a Water Mage you drink a lot of... not water" A guy with curly, auburn hair and dark green eyes commented.

"Well, we don't see you eating fire for that matter, Gustav" Caesar replied.

"I mean, I make most of the fires we use while on missions though" Gustav, the guy with auburn hair shrugged in response.

"Maybe he snuck off to go get some" A guy with short blond hair and golden brown eyes said with a cheeky smile, only to get slapped in the back of the head by another guy, this one was slightly taller than average with a somewhat thin but not as much as Caesar. His hair was between messy and wavy and had a more tanned skin tone, yet he had some freckles on his cheeks.

"Shut up, Jim! Have you forgotten his sister is here?!" He said, pointing at their supposed unofficial chaperone: A very tall woman, taller than most men, with a very muscular build that largely reflected in her arms and rock hard abs, yet her body stubbornly stored large amounts of fat in her top and bottom, giving her curves that many other women envied, even if they didn't quite agree with her rough, warrior lifestyle. She was currently playing card games with a large group of the tavern's regulars and seemed to be winning handily. Two empty beer mugs could be spotted to her left.

"Yeah, I know Farran, but I don't think Ariadne minds, she's the first to try and get him together with some girl" Jim said, rubbing where he had been hit while giving an annoyed glare.

"It's most likely that he went to train and meditate" Another guy said, this one also had rather short, messy dark brown hair, but also a more athletic build, with noticeable muscle mass on his arms at the very least. All of them wore some variant of hooded cloaks that hid most of their bodies pretty well.

"Yeah, that's the most likely thing, Jeff" Pete said "It would be nice if he relaxed more often though" With a quick hand gesture, a small whirlwind made his beer foam more before he enjoyed a sip.

"He can relax, it's just that he's not so much of a people person... and doesn't like beer that much" Farran commented "And he's certainly no thirsty horndog either" He added, glancing at Jim, who knew he was being talked about but he took it in stride.

"The pot calling the kettle black though" He replied with a smug chuckle.

"There is a difference! I want to restore my Clan before it goes extinct for good! You just don't know what to do with your life" Farran was clearly ticked off by the previous remark, as he had an annoyed look and a faint embarrassed blush.

"Well, the Thunder Mages used to say that life is but a bright flash, it's too short as it is, so the best we can do is enjoy it to its fullest" Jim laughed and finished his drink, asking the barkeep for a refill.

"These guys..." Farran sighed and facepalmed.