“The winds of the north are demonic and twisted. The southlands are wracked with war. To the west, the cauldron of creation stirs. In the east, the dead are amassing once more. Ancient powers stir, old rivals emerge as titans ready to clash. As the Godddess’s light shimmers in the heavens, the world shall shudder in its wake. ”
- Observations of the Stellar Observatory, “Dawn Of A New Year”
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On their way to lunch, the party discussed their findings and concluded that they had exhausted all potential leads in Ostia. While a disappointing final result, the finishing of their immediate tasks allowed for a far more relaxing post Saints Day week. The day wasn’t over yet, and the curtain rolled up for the final act of the day, an activity that even Sophie somewhat dreaded. They would be visiting Alodie’s family.
Alodie had insisted on this, though she herself appeared just as if not more nervous than anyone else. Growing even more agitated the closer lunch time got. Apparently, her parents had requested their presence and without any good reason to decline, they were due to present themselves in front of House Elteria. All of them were a little uneasy about the prospect but at least Elaria seemed the most intrigued, openly curious about the way nobles of this land live, given their recent encounter in the Ostian gardens.
Sophie shifted uncomfortably as they neared the Elteria manor, a gated off mansion occupying a plot of land on the southern end of the city. Here in the noble’s quarters, the one thing that they noticed was how many of the larger structures were gated or fenced off, already behind a small city wall of sorts that separated them from the commoners. Judging by Alodie’s reaction, Sophie suspected that there was a level of disconnect between their host and her family. No matter, for Sophia and I, at least, dealing with aristocrats should be… easy enough.
A pinkish red brick manor standing three stories tall awaited them. For a moment Sophie just took in the sights. A handful of house guards stood at attention, their light armor making them look more like chilled statues in the snow. Upon sighting their lady, two of the armoured figures walked out of their posts and towards the party. Instead of the traditional halberds or spears carried by guards of other cities, these wielded cavalry sabres strapped to their sides. The two guards wordlessly saluted their lady, Alodie blushing slightly at the awkwardness at the encounter.
With their greetings given, they opened the gates to the manor and two more guards stood waiting along the footpath. The party followed Alodie’s lead and pushed onwards towards the manor where a more fancily dressed guardsmen with cape and plumed hat stood waiting.
“Lady Elteria. Guests.” The guard acknowledged.
“Sir Gestian.” Alodie bobbed her head, “Mother and father should be expecting me… er, us.”
“As you say, mam. Welcome home.” He nodded and moved to knock on the door, “Young Lady Elteria is here with guests.” He yelled.
With barely a seconds delay, the main doors clicked from within and began swinging open. A warm light greeted them followed by a blast of equally warm air.
“Welcome back, mam. Enjoy your visit.” The guard smiled briefly before moving out of the way.
From within two people dressed in maid outfits welcomed Alodie who seemed smaller than ever. Sophie and Sophia both shared a glance, their collective memory striking upon notes of nostalgia. Ary and Elaria however, seemed to be imagining something altogether different as their gazes drifted between the maids and Sophie.
“Lady Alodie! Welcome back! I see you’ve brought guests!” The older of the maids spoke.
“Ah… hi Laverene, Michela.” Alodie nervously whispered.
“Look at you! Bringing… quite a few people along.” Laverene chuckled, “And of course! Welcome dear guests. I suspect the master and mistress will be awaiting your arrival in the first dining hall.”
“Quite the crowd.” The younger maid, Michela added, “And most certainly more than the two you reported, young mistress.”
“Ahh… ehh…” Alodie spluttered.
“Nevermind that, we’re all glad you have more friends! Now your mother and father are waiting, so hurry along and we can chatter afterwards.” Laverene hurriedly interjected.
“Ahh… ahh… thank you.” Alodie mumbled, cautiously gesturing for the party to follow.
As they passed through the doors, Sophie found herself admiring the uniforms the maids wore. For though the style remained relatively similar to what she once had, these ones were colorful, the blue and grey outfits likely representing Alodie’s house colors. The maids caught her glancing at them and the younger one arched an eyebrow at her.
“Used to be a maid, back west in Carrador.” Sophie explained.
The two household staff looked at her thoughtfully but said nothing, simply gesturing to her to move on. Complying at once, she joined the others as they stepped into what Alodie described as ‘the guest dining hall’. It was a gaudy, ostentatious room draped with accessories and landscape art, a cozy little lounge nook with its own fireplace, and a large ornate wooden table that could comfortably seat a dozen people. At the table there were already people around it, specifically two older figures who Sophie assumed were the girl’s parents, and two younger ones around her own age if a bit older.
She could see the exact thoughts going through their minds as they took in the new arrivals, first smitten by Ary’s excitedly nervous movements and adorable features. As everyone should. Predictably, their focus would always land on the oddest and tallest member of the party, the dark elf. Raylani seemed relatively unfazed and simply followed whatever procedure Elaria performed, uncaring of how she might appear to the wider world.
“Alodie! Dearie! And welcome, welcome to all of you! Please, do take a seat. We have some food prepared but ah, might not be enough.” Alodie’s mother piped up.
“Indeed, indeed. Welcome to the Elteria household, a fine greetings to you all. As my missus said, please help yourself.” Her father quickly joined in before tapping a bell by the table, “Laverene, would you kindly help set up four sets of silverware and four plates as well?” He called out.
“At once, sir.” The maid bowed respectfully before rushing somewhere.
“But by all means, all of you, please do sit. Ah! Where are my manners, this is my lovely wife Julia, I am Dorian. You can call us mister and missus Elteria if that helps. And these two are Chole and Emile, Alodie’s older and younger.” Alodie’s father introduced the household, much to Alodie’s embarrassment.
“Hello.”
“Pleasure.”
Alodie’s siblings politely spoke.
Sophie could see Alodie squirm as the girl tried to decide on what to do. All she could do was send a mental apology to Alode as she stepped up and dropped a polite curtsy. Next time, Alodie. Sophia quickly followed her example whilst the other party members just opted to awkwardly bow.
“Pleased to meet all of you.” Her counterpart then stole the spotlight from her, “I am Sophia af Kastiane, a twin, as you can see.” She smiled, allowing the room to share a half hearted chuckle. “I am… a bodyguard by trade, so rest assured, your daughter is in safe hands.” She finished with a bow.
This time, Alodie’s family shared a heartier chuckle, a hint of approval gained.
“I suppose that means I’m next, I’m Sophie af Kastiane, I perform many duties but you can consider me the Lily Knight . As my sister says, don’t worry, we’ll keep her safe.” Sophie dipped her head.
“Then to get the siblings out of the way, I’m Elaria, their older sister.” Elaria began and shot a sly smirk at Sophie. No, I’m older, dammit. “I’m a travelling explorer and entertainer. This is my, as you might be able to tell, special assistant Raylani.” Elaria announced.
The dark elf mimicked her mistress' bow and Sophie could see how the family watched her every movement with bated breath. I suppose she does look quite bizarre to anyone who hasn’t seen her kind before. At least everyone seems more surprised at her presence than the fact that Elaria is also my sister.
“Umm, I’m Aryana. I’m a herbalist, I study and live with Sophie in Arteria.” Ary rapidly dipped her head, the girl’s demeanour also becoming more squirrel-like as she also tried to avoid attention.
“My, my, what a wide ranging cast of characters. If Alodie hadn’t told us that you were from the Academy, well… it’d be just as easy to say she befriended a band of adventurers!” Dorian joked.
Sophie looked to Ary and the two giggled, “We do adventure sometimes.”
“You’re a knight as well?”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“That’s correct, sir.”
“My, how exciting. But please sit. I’m sure you all have some wonderful tales to share. But beside that, how’s our little Alodie treating you all? Is she a good guide? Show you all the main sights yet?”
“Father!” Alodie squeaked.
Everyone laughed a little at her outburst and Alodie shrank a little more.
“She’s been real excited to have people around, you know? So thank you all of you for being around.” Dorian continued.
“Dad!” Alodie protested more desperately, to no avail.
The party traded a few looks but left it up to Sophie to speak, the half elf rolling her eyes as Sophia cheekily shrugged to say, not my problem.
“She’s been great. Great help in the academy too.” Sophie replied.
Before Dorian could embarrass his daughter even more, Laverene and a few staff entered the room with the requested tableware, elegantly setting things up for the additional guests. Sophie took this time to take stock of the food at hand. A whole roasted goose, some smoked meats, fresh and cooked vegetables, a large communal pot of what she assumed was porridge or a rice equivalent, a smattering of oranges and grapes on a fruit platter. For people who claimed that they might not have enough to feed everyone, they sure had a lot of food.
As they sat down, Sophie could feel Ary’s hand reach under the table to squeeze hers. She looked over and found the redhead shuffling a little awkwardly, when their eyes met, Ary kept glancing at the silverware and back. Oh? Why does she look so flustered? Oh! She doesn’t know proper etiquette… is she… embarrassed? Sophie suppressed the urge to chuckle at such an adorable sight and just gently squeezed back. It’s okay, she mouthed to Ary, just follow along with me.
Unconvinced but without any other option, Ary narrowed her eyes and nodded. With Alodie currently being fawned over by her parents, Sophie turned to glance at the Elteria siblings. The older sister looked to be in her mid twenties, and the wedding band on her hand told of a husband not currently present. The younger brother was more of Alodie’s age, his youthful appearance contrasted with his more serious demeanour, at least when compared to Alodie. It would seem her family were inducting them into whatever businesses they had early on. Poor kid, lucky, but still.
A clap echoed, stilling all conversation and turning all attention towards the head of the table where Alode’s father stood up once more, the girl quickly moving to an empty seat at the rapid dismissal. “Thank you everyone for being around. Without further adieu, let us enjoy this meal and offer our thanks to Astralis for this bounty. Blessed by the stars.”
“Blessed by the stars.” Sophie echoed.
“Now let us eat! Though, I must say I share my daughter's eagerness to hear of some of your group's exploits if you don’t mind.” Dorian chuckled.
The party grinned and Sophie tipped her head at Elaria, her sister looking only slightly miffed at being volunteered to be first. With the clatter of silverware and food being passed around, she suspected they’d have quite a few tales to go through before ‘lunch’ would be done. But hey, this isn’t that bad at all.
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The first topic of luncheon had been about Raylani and how odd the elf looked. Thankfully, she didn’t take it personally and seemed more bemused by the incredulousness of human reactions to her presence. It was also relieving for Sophie to not be the object of befuddlement, with half elves generally being viewed warily. Raylani was saved by Elaria opening up about their travels, even performing a song or two with Raylani, though they mercifully chose something less risque than their usual routine.
Then came the rest of the party’s turn to recount their tales. Sophie let Sophia speak on their travels on the road and with the dwarves. Sophie herself kept things more brief than was necessary, but had decided on trying to minimize her actions, feeling a small tingle of shame every time she thought upon the moments she had failed herself and others. But it was enough. Sophie could see the approval in Alodie’s parents eyes as they looked at their daughter’s friends in a new light. The siblings looked on with something between indifference and jealousy at the free sounding lifestyles. It mattered little though, for Sophie caught sight of Alodie trying to hide a satisfied smile, and that was enough.
Ary was adorably out of her depth but managed to play along. Sophie did notice the younger brother take note of her lack of table etiquette but let it slide as he didn’t comment on it either. Ary remained mostly quiet but Sophie could see the girl’s eyes taking in every little detail of the new environment. What a cutie.
Lunch finished two hours overtime and only then did Sophie get a chance to properly move. Alodie’s parents showed them around the first floor of the manor, taking them to various rooms including: their personal greenhouse, the estate’s library, a few offices, the kitchens, and finally a large recreation area where the party was quickly deposited without Alodie. The girl was dragged up to the second floor in order to confer with her parents about something. Maids Laverene and Michela came with a butler to serve ‘tea time’. Though the gesture was appreciated, the party snickered amongst themselves as most were still too full from the heavy lunch.
Settling down for the afternoon, Sophie found herself relaxing on a couch with Ary resting beside her, the two recovering from all the food they had. The other three congregated around a board game and found great fascination in determining which one had the most effective mind in outwitting each other. They are certainly competitive, Sophia and Raylani in particular. Sensing the lull in activity, Yana poked her head out of out from where a necklace would’ve gone and began fluttering around. She had disguised herself as a good luck charm from the dwarven under kingdoms, a not entirely untrue claim. She fluttered around the room, doing much the same as Ary had earlier and soaked in everything she could.
“Isn’t it weird, in a few more days, we’ll be on the way back to the academy.” Ary spoke.
“It does feel strange, doesn't it? Given all the… the shit we went through in the deeps. Then all this.” Sophie gestured around them, “Feels kinda surreal. Then just, poof, we go back to the academy.”
“Mmhmm.”
“Though this time, we’re going to have to figure out how to get those three involved.” Sophie grumbled.
“Heheh, it’d be fun having them around.”
“Huh, and trouble I’ll bet.”
“But they’re your siblings.” Ary cooed a little more sadly, “And Raylani.”
“Mmm, that’s the problem though isn’t it? I’ll have to explain how an orphan magically got two siblings. Not that I mind.” Sophie chuckled, giving Ary’s cheek a little poke, “Then, I’ll have to somehow introduce a species of elf never seen before by humans of this era. Somehow convincing the academy that not just one, but all three of them just popped up out of nowhere.”
The two giggled and snuggled each other, turning their attention back to the trio with Yana now fluttering around them, brimming with curiosity. They watched the little faerie poking and prodding at every shelf or thing, seemingly completely enraptured with this strange insight into a more extravagant version of the human world outside. Sophie spied Ary looking almost wistfully at the faerie, and wondered what exactly was going on within her mind.
Beyond appearing as a light spell above or around Ary, the faerie mostly tried to conceal her presence from humanity as a whole. Sophie recalled that Yana had only briefly touched on the issue, speaking about the power of fae magicks and the innate desire for those seeking power to try and capture the fae. Though Sophie didn’t know how accurate Yana’s beliefs were nowadays, she respected her reasoning and understood the lust for power should people learn about her own abilities. Not being able to die does make for quite a useful ability in a fight. Sophie shuddered at feelings it evoked. Doesn’t make it any less pleasant though. And I guess Yana could separate my connection with Ary temporarily... to bypass even the void magicks, I suppose that means she's far more powerful than she looks, that's fore sure.
Ary had a keen eye for Sophie’s shifts in moods and quickly snuggled up to her, offering a calming balm amongst the sea of chaotic thoughts beginning to swirl about within her mind. The lovely scent of floral vanilla filled her senses and Sophie realized she had grown more and more dependent on the redhead’s presence. It worried her in a way that was similar to when she had been around Eva, a constant fear of having such an important thing in her life being snatched away. Hah, I’d die before I would let that happen, she smiled grimly. She absently toyed with Ary’s braid, receiving great joy from the little pleased noises Ary made.
The door to the room opened after a while and Alodie entered with a polite bow followed by her parents. The girl looked fairly embarrassed at the eyes falling upon her but tried to keep a straight face. Her parents on the other hand, looked overjoyed at the party enjoying their recreation room.
“Sorry for keeping little Alodie away from you guys. We just wanted to catch up.” Dorian chuckled.
“Dad…” Alodie muttered.
“She writes home but she’s always so vague.” Alodie’s mother admonished.
Alodie looked away as everyone else shared a soft laugh.
“Go now, don’t keep your guests waiting. And once again, thank you all so much for visiting.”
“Likewise, Lady Elteria, thank you for hosting us.” Sophie replied for the group.
“What a polite young lady. You’re the knight, yes?”
“That’s me, madam.”
“If you don’t mind, how did you end up with so many accolades to your name?”
Sophie froze, unsure if she was allowed to bring down the mood of the household. She glanced towards Alodie who shrunk, also uncertain of what the correct reply was.
Not our problem though, Sophia shrugged.
Very helpful, Sophie dryly acknowledged, we are guests, you know?
I suppose some tact would be nice. They aren’t like Alodie, at least, we don’t know them that well. Sophia replied.
That’s what I was thinking too, Sophie sighed.
“I was… went across the border after a quest Carrador, madam. Earned my titles in Melton, and along my travels after that.”
“Amazing. To think there were such capable young people as yourself, and one who’s studying at the academy at the same time!”
“Heh, thank you for the praise, madam. Wouldn’t recommend it though. It’s a tiring life.”
“I can only imagine!” Julia looked approvingly at her, “Ah, but don’t mind me, just the ramblings of an old lady. Try to keep my daughter out of trouble though. She doesn't act like it but she can be quite the troublemaker.”
“Of course madam.”
“Mom! Sophie!” Alodie rasped. Poor girl, heheh.
“Now, now, young lady. She is your senior.” Julia tutted.
“Sorry, mom.”
“Hah! Well you are all welcome to join us for dinner too.” Dorian chimed in.
“Another day!” Alodie quickly declared, her desire to avoid more embarrassing moments overwhelming her nerves.
Her parents chuckled at her outburst and Sophie had to hold back a small laugh.
“Fine, fine. We’ll leave you all be for now. Do enjoy the rest of your week in Ostia!” Dorian dipped his head slightly.
“Thank you for the opportunity, sir.” Sophie dipped her head in return.
Alodie hurried over to the party the moment her parents walked out of the room. Her face beet red but relieved. Having a family like this must be nice.