“So what made you want to accompany us, Master?” I ask the aged elf as Guinevere and I fly across the skies leading our flight of six dragoons and six wyverns to the capital. We took about two days to prepare and choose two other dragoons, excluding the two masters, to accompany us northward and now with everything in place we’ve finally set off westward for the royal capital.
“Many of reasons.” He responds curtly without a glance in my direction. He remains intent on scanning the landscape atop his own black wyvern, Nastrond. Compared to Guinevere, his scales were very similar in color and radiance but Nastrond was far larger in size, his wings only requiring a single beat to match three of Guinevere’s. “Though I will say that one of them is my own curiosity about our neighbors in the north.”
“I’ve never really talked to one before, only seen them as a kid on the streets of Ilmeiya. I always thought they were these grubby little monsters that only wanted to beg and snitch people, but they always paid merchants properly with sacks of gold. I always wondered where they got so much money from.”
“You would be a fool to underestimate a goblin, Lauriel.” He turns his head slightly towards me so that the edges of his angled eyes barely met my own. “While they may be small they are a sentient race like ourselves. You can consider them a race equal to us.”
“Pah, really? Those small runts don’t seem capable of beating anything in a head to head fight.”
“You have been alive long enough to understand just how potent Aeternum is to any species that can utilize it, Lauriel. I suggest you reevaluate your assessment of the goblins, as well as our own reliance to Aeternum.”
His voice was stern and sank like knives. Nastrond belched a breath of black smoke, almost like a snort of amusement at what his Master had said to me. Guinevere also coughed, giggling.
Yet, Master was correct about my assessment. Aeternum was and still is an incredibly powerful substance that has done much for all the various species and races in our world. For us, it is the source of our magical power through the Aeternal Flow, a mysterious force that zigzags to and from large collections of Aeternum that fuels our spells and magic. However other races utilize the crystal as a fuel source for weaponry or war machines. The drakken are best known for this in centuries past. I knew what my Master was trying to convey to me.
“Do they use Aeternum as much as we do, Master?” I ask tentatively.
“As prolifically as your kind used to, Lauriel.” He responds mechanically, his eyes looking downward again. “They are monstrosities with an appetite for Aeternum unlike any other.”
“So they are engineers then? They use Aeternum as weapons, instead of through the Flow?”
“Yes. You are too young to know what the goblins are capable of, but know that while they may be diminutive in stature, their weaponry is second only to Celestial technology. I can vouch for this personally.”
"Then that must be why you wanted to come on this mission.”
“Another reason, yes. But I still have others that I will not indulge you upon.”
I contemplate this for a moment, but erratic movement up ahead catches my attention before I realize who it was.
“Hey Lau! Look what I can do!” Raye calls from up ahead. I watch her firmly tap Lancelot’s neck, her firm, russet scaled wyvern before the two start spiraling downward in a dramatic dive.
“What on earth are you doing?!” I exclaim. Guinevere huffed a puff of smoke, somewhat amused.
“We’re fine, I promise!” Raye shouts from below as Lancelot arches his body and makes a u-shaped turn. In a dramatic display, rider and wyvern once again fly back to proper altitude. Raye cheers and hugs her wyvern, the two an impressive, but unruly duo.
“Heh, I’ve never seen you fly like that before, Raye.” Master Vermeil smirks as he and his wyvern flies closer to us, now a congregation. “Shall we hold a competition?”
“Oooh? What do you mean?” Raye asks eagerly.
“We’ll hold a competition, based off who can pull off more flips and spins. The loser has to pay for dinner tonight.” Vermeil says with a wink. “How about you two join in as well?”
Master Stefans scoffs. “Should you two really be fooling around while we are on a mission?”
“Well Elric, it’s not like we’re exactly on duty yet, you know.” Vermeil says with a bright smile. “Come on, what do you say, Lau?”
“Guinevere and I don’t really do stunts.” I say with a wry smile. Guinevere snorts in agreement.
“Suit yourself.” Vermeil shrugs. “Raye, ready?”
“You bet!”
With that, the two dive down and engage into a series of flips and spins in the air below. I roll my eyes, watching them fly to and fro. Master Stefans, similarly heaves a clearly disappointed sigh.
“Those two are far too carefree.”
“They’re really good at it though, aren’t they?”
"Energy better spent elsewhere.” He replies simply. “Though, it would seem their adventure will be cut short.”
Master Stefans points onward to the west, and sure enough, I see the unmistakable white, Alabaster Walls of the capital. I could even see the two inner walls from this distance.
“You should stop their hooliganism, Lauriel. I shall notify our younger two knights in the rear of our descent.”
“Yes master.”
Nastrond beats his wings upward and stalls backward, holding his position in place to meet our two other dragoons, Gautier and Gilles. Meanwhile, I lightly tap Guinevere’s neck, coaxing her to fly downward. She listens and dives down, quickly reaching the same altitude as Master Vermeil and Raye.
“Hey you two! We’re about to land soon, so stop your stunts alright?” I shout.
“Let me do one more Lau!” Raye replies and immediately Lancelot flips and then spins midair, before diving down like a corkscrew. “Catch you later Lau!”
Vermeil and his wyvern, clearly exhausted from the competition with Raye, flies up to me after Raye moves ahead of us. “Gods, that knight really is something. I could barely keep up with her. That competition was a mistake.”
I laugh. “Was she really that fast compared to you?”
“Diving is one thing, as I’m sure you know Lau, but to maneuver and spin like she does-- that takes talent and practice. She really is an exceptional knight, now that I see her in person.”
I smile proudly. “Yeah, I know.”
“You’re lucky to have a partner like her. Very talented. Keep her in check though on this mission, you hear?” Master Vermeil winks, before likewise diving down to the earth. I look behind me, making sure if Master Stefans has reached the other two, and sure enough they too were beginning their descent. With that, Guinevere and I glide down to the earth, kicking up a cloud of dust as we land. Around us was a rather loosely spread suburb around the immediate outskirts of the capital city. These people mainly provided food for the people, and took a wide berth around us, wary. The rest of the group had already assembled, and Stefans was already lecturing Raye.
“…You put yourself in needless risk, especially when the only benefit of it is your own entertainment. Suppose you got hurt?”
“I understand Master…”
“I have no issue with this assuming we are not on duty, but you are a valuable asset to this mission. Do not needless endanger yourself in the future, young lady.”
“Understood, Master…”
“Geez, is Master Stefans always this uptight?” I hear Gilles whisper behind me to his brother. I stifle a giggle, as I realize Master Stefans is too far out of earshot to hear them.
“When you’re that old, you’re nothing but uptight, honestly.” His brother, Gautier, responds with a meek sigh. “Just don’t let him hear you.”
“Oi, Stefans, how about you lay off the girl? I was the one that challenged her anyways.” Master Vermeil interjects, defending Raye.
“Just because I am not speaking to you does not mean that I do not have anything to say to you. What kind of Master promotes hooliganism?” Master Stefans grimaces. I always find it enjoyable when I’m not on the receiving end of his lectures, probably because I’ve actually received them far too many times as his direct student.
“Lau…he scares me…” Raye whispers to me meekly, crawling away from Master Stefans as he redirects his verbal abuse onto Vermeil, who seems to be taking it with a broad smile. I give her a light hug.
“Is he not different from your teacher, Master de Croise?”
“Master de Croise is very strict and to the point…” She sniffs. “But Master Stefans is even more direct because he explains to you exactly why what you did is wrong, and that you should feel bad because you did wrong…”
“Oh, don’t I know it.” I pat her again on the head, comforting her a bit. “Cheer up, it’s your first time in the capital, isn’t it?”
“Mn, not exactly…last time I couldn’t really enjoy it though.”
“Oh, why’s that?”
“It’s nothing really. It’s in the past, you know?”
“Mnn, if you say so Raye. If it does bother you, you can always talk to me, you know?”
“I know Lau.” She smiles, though it looked a bit forced. I only hope that it was not something serious that would bring up bad memories or something.
“Ah, there you guys are!” A voice calls from the gate, and I see Princess Elissa run for us—only, it wasn’t actually the Princess. In almost every way, this princess looked identical to her, except for her hair and voice. Her voice was distinctly shriller, and Elissa wore her hair in a single long braid—this woman wears it in two tails that dangled above her chest.
“Ah, the princess!” Raye exclaims, regaining her usual cheerful demeanor.
The woman giggles, and I knew it caught the other dragoons off guard based on their initial meeting with the Princess. “Well, I certainly am a princess but I’m not the woman you’re thinking of. That princess is my twin sister! My name’s Princess Victoria, though you can just call me Vicky. Nice to meet you!” She then spins her body over to face me and gave a bright smile, one that I reply.
“Long time no see Vicky. Is Elissa unavailable or something?”
Vicky twirls a piece of her hair. “Yeah, something like that. I think she was running late with some awful paperwork and pretty much told me to go find you guys, though she didn’t really tell me where to find you guys. I actually went to the North and South Gate before I realized you guys were probably coming from the East Gate…”
I give her a wry smile. “You really didn’t think that one through, did you?”
“Look, she’s the brains between the two of us!” She knocks her skull with her knuckles. “This head’s only good for one thing, and that’s smashing it into other people!”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
I laugh, beaming at the youngest princess of the royal family. I adore talking to her, though I change the subject before she lost her train of thought. She really has an incredibly short attention span. “Did Elissa tell us where to meet her, and did she give us permission to enter the city? You know that the other five dragoons can’t enter the city without a permit, right?”
“Oh, you didn’t know? Any royal family member can give the go ahead to foreigners, including non-elves, to the gate guard to let them in. It’s pretty convenient, am I right?”
“Interesting.” Master Stefans interjects. “Is that a recent law change, Princess Victoria? I do not recall that being in place when I last happened to visit the capital.”
“Yup! It was actually an edict passed by my sister about like…six months ago or something? Either way, I can let you guys in without a permit, and, if we’re lucky, I can get them to drop off your things at the Falcon Inn. Oh, that’s where she wants to meet you guys by the way. ”
“You mean that big inn at Ironwater?” I ask.
“Yeah, that place! She already booked rooms for you I think? Anyways we should get going!”
Vicky spins on her heels and begins hopping towards the drawbridge, with the rest of us in tow.
“Hey, Lau?” Raye asks, running up next to me.
“What’s up Raye?”
“Is that really a princess of the royal family…she seems so…unlike Elissa.”
I giggle, adoring Raye’s innocence. “Yeah, she is. She’s one of the kingdom’s best swordsman too. How do you not know the royal family?”
“Look, I lived out in the countryside, and rarely see royalty! You can’t fault me for asking…plus it was kind of embarrassing getting her confused for her sister.”
“Don’t sweat it Raye, you really overthink things too much.”
“Hail to the princess!” A guard declares as we approach the drawbridge. Two of them uncross their pikes immediately before the portcullis, while the officer greets Vicky. The other guards on the battlements above remain on guard, holding their crossbows and patrolling about. “Are these your visitors that will be accompanying you inside the city?”
“Yup, all six of them! They’re all from the Dragoon Order, so would you guys mind taking in their wyverns to the rookery?”
“Certainly, we’ll make sure they’re well taken care of.”
“Oh, and would you mind taking their stuff to the Falcon Inn as well? I’d really appreciate it since they’re our honored guests for the day.”
“With pleasure, your highness. Guards, I need twelve of you down on the gates! Take their wyverns and deliver their belongings to the Falcon Inn!”
The guardsmen immediately sprint down the towers and onto the drawbridge, several of them quickly taking our luggage while another six of them slowly approach our wyverns, lightly caressing them on the snout and neck, earning their permission to mount them. In the matter of a minute, all of us were relieved of our luggage and wyverns.
“I bid you all safe journey into the royal capital, Dragoons. Ah, and it is my pleasure to welcome you back to the city, Miss Perthesa.” He bows to me. I nod to him in thanks.
“Thanks Lieutenant, we’ll be on our way now!” Vicky waves, ushering us forward into the immense city.
“Being friendly with royalty really does have its perks, huh?” Gilles asks.
“You have both our princess and our esteemed dragoon here.” Master Vermeil replies with a smile. I roll my eyes.
“It’s true, however.” Master Stefans remarks coldly. “Elves in the capital city only care about status. I would advise avoiding nobility.”
It was a sentiment I agreed with, despite my own status. “Just stick inside the Merchant District after Vicky takes us to the inn.” I add.
“Oh, by the way!” Vicky asks, spinning about as we now pass underneath the portcullis. Tall apartments now pass into view immediately overhead, with merchants and craftsmen squabbling with one another on the wide, paved roads of Ilmeiya. A carriage passes us by erratically, zooming onward to the right. “How many of you have actually been inside the city before?”
“Our first time here, actually.” Gilles indicate towards him and his brother.
“Mine as well.” Master Vermeil waves.
“Oh, then would you enjoy a little tour as we head to our destination? I love talking about the city since history is pretty much the only thing I learned at the academy.”
“Why, that sounds like a marvelous idea!” Vermeil applauds. “This city is truly gorgeous, these buildings absolutely splendid. What can you tell me about them, fair princess?”
Vicky giggles, bouncing a little bit in place from the compliment. “Well, right now we stand on the Silver Road, which forms a large ring around the city. Most roads are like it, but the Silver Road is most notable since it connects all four cardinal plazas together. We’re headed for the northeastern one, Ironwater Plaza.”
We begin walking northward, and already the looming apartments shield us from the sun with their long shadows. Pedestrians sift by us without a second glance, and more carriages whirl by, carried by swift steeds. Large windows display various jewelry, weaponry, and amulets, all common craft items found in the city.
“Wow…They’re so pretty…” Raye remarks, a bit dazed as she passes by one such display window.
“Oh, you wouldn’t want to buy those sweetie!” Vicky winks, lightly pulling her away. “Ilmeiyan quality jewels are nothing compared to Vasali. I promise you that much. These ones are very much overpriced too!”
The price immediately snaps Raye to attention as she suddenly jumps back, seeing the price tags. We all share a slight laugh at Raye as she mumbles to herself.
“So here you can see these apartments and merchant buildings, yeah? Not a lot of cities are as densely populated as Ilmeiya, so they all tend to build wide. We on the other hand, have to build taller and taller since we’re kind of restricted by space. People still do want to work in the city, though the cost of living is pretty high here, even for nobility, so a lot of the common folk have to live outside. You probably saw them in the suburb when you guys landed, yeah?”
“Quite. They look a lot cleaner than I remember. I would imagine that is thanks to your sister?”
Vicky beams. “Annie is an amazing queen, and she really cares for her people, even those that are just outside her city. Though they aren’t technically a part of our capital, they still work incredibly hard for us. Most of them have a big dream of living inside one of these,” she points to a tall, rectangular building with several windows protruding from it.
“This is an apartment complex! It’s basically a building with tons of mini homes inside it, where people live in. Usually a merchant owns the building and lets people rent the space, and through that, lets them acquire citizenship if they’ve been working here for a few years. Some merchants don’t bother though, and just make it their personal tower of sorts.”
“So the plan is basically to keep building taller buildings since you’re running out of space?” Gautier asks, a hand on his chin in thought.
“Mostly, yeah. If you ask me, we need to change building material to like steel if we want to build even taller, but right now it still suits us fine and solves most of our problems.”
“It’s a very interesting concept. I suppose people have to put up with their small rooms in a city as large as this then.” Vermeil adds.
“The big, individual family homes are all in the Noble District, where Lau lives as well. I naturally live all the way in that castle over there…” She stands on her toes and then points to the massive citadel at the top of the hill, piercing the clouds with its massive towers. “The Noble District is mostly people who’ve been with Ilmeiya since the very beginning, back before Jeanne II was crowned.”
“Ah, was she not a lesser princess before she became Queen?”
“Yes indeed! You really know your stuff Mister…”
"Elric Stefans, my princess.”
“Mister Stefans! You really do know your stuff! For the rest of you guys, Jeanne II was the first queen that shifted our capital from Mein to Ilmeiya. It was actually because of a civil war between two of her sisters, and she ardently refused to help either of them. In the end, she managed to fight off both of them and declare her status as Queen after dueling them both, thus officially raising Ilmeiya’s status as the capital. It was all thanks to the walls and guards of the city that allowed her to win, and that’s why we take it so seriously in the capital.”
“Everything looks so orderly and neat.” Master Vermeil notes. “I guess that’s an effect of having to build so carefully around three sets of walls, isn’t it?”
“Pretty much!”
“Oh, what’s that up ahead?” Gilles asks, pointing to the clearing in buildings.
“That, my friend, is Ironwater Plaza!” Vicky triumphantly declares, showing us the wide clearing in the northeastern quarter of the city.
“Wow…this place looks amazing.” Gilles marvels with eyes full of wonder.
“Hmm…I wonder how those fountains work so precisely…” I hear Gautier muttering to himself.
“You like the scene?” Vicky smiles, holding out her hand proudly and guiding us closer to the center, which was the real magic of the plaza as water spouts glided to and fro. In the immediate center of the large plaza was a Winter Lion, holding an immense sword at the very top of a multi-level fountain that covered almost half of the plaza itself by the lowest floor. Various other lions stood underneath the lion, both to support it directly or at lower levels, some of them spraying jets of water into the lower levels. The lowest level was a large pool where various other lions statue raised their swords against one another. A large stairway to the southwest led to the Noble District, with a few branching paths leading to the upper terraces of the Merchant District as well.
“Ironwater is the largest of the four plazas here, and it’s pretty easy to tell why it has the name it does based first the fountains, and then of the massive smelter a bit ways north. It’s where most of the smoke clouds of Ilmeiya come from, but it’s where elven steel is primarily manufactured at.” Vicky said with a grin, proud with all the information she could provide us.
“Gorgeous…makes me really wish I pursued my initial aspirations of an engineer, really.” Master Vermeil sniffs.
“Oooh, you wanted to be an engineer at first, Mister?”
“But of course! Look at me, I’m a drakken, what else would a proud drakken father expect of his son anyways?” He smiles, laughing a bit, before something else catches his eye. “Fair Princess, are those runic weapons I see over there?”
“Ah, yep! This plaza is probably exactly where your weapon was crafted, Mister uh…”
“Louis Vermeil, my princess.”
“Mister Vermeil! But yes, your halberd that you have strapped to your back was more than likely crafted right here in the heart of the city. If you see the smoke up above, that’s from the Great Grey Smelter further up north in the city, where all the iron from Vasal and Ival gets smelted down into steel, and then later forged into proper runic weapons right here. We’re very proud of Ilmeiyan steel, since we also use magic to augment it, unlike the other cities.” She huffs proudly, patting her own sword strapped to the side of her belt. “Unfortunately, this is where we’ll have to say goodbye, since I’m sure my sister would prefer to speak to you guys now!”
The princess waved and then gestures her hand to a large inn to the east of us, where the words Falcon Inn hanged over a sign. Sure enough, on its large frontal porch was a familiar, blue-haired noble that was drinking tea nonchalantly. This time, instead of being dressed as an envoy, the princess was wearing all the usual attire of a princess—her royal cuirass with a mail shirt underneath, and a cape with a Winter Lion that proudly announced her status of royalty. She took notice of us as Vicky bid us farewell, ushering us to her with a flick of her finger while her twin sister bounded up the steps back to her castle home.
“Welcome to the royal capital.” The princess states officially, taking one last sip of her tea before standing up. She gestures for a maid to come, and she gives her an ample tip that made the servant bow profusely. “I trust my sister was not too much of a handful?”
“It was nice seeing her again, your highness.” I reply with a quick bow, knowing that we were in public and a certain manner of decorum was to be expected. The other dragoons imitate me, following the directions I gave them before our flight. Nobility and merchants in Ilmeiya regard the royal family highly, and the Royal Legion also actively patrol the streets. Any amount of disrespect to a princess, however slight, could lead to a disastrous scene. “What would you have us do now? Are we to wait here until further instruction?”
“Nay, though you may do as you please for today. Our legions are mustered and prepared to march onward tomorrow, but I saw it unnecessary to leave without the six of you resting beforehand.” She gestures her hand to the back, where a receptionist gently waves to us. A few royal legionnaires stood guard to her side, and another two step down from the stairway. “The soldiers have already dropped your belongings, and I have personally paid for your expenses. You may do as you please for the rest of the day, however I expect all of you to arrive at the mustering camp in the North Gate tomorrow at dawn. Do not be late. Understood?”
“Yes your highness.” The six of us bow once again.
“Very well. I have my own matters to attend to. Dismissed.”
The meeting was rather short, but I figure she didn’t want to overload us since she wanted to give us this day off. I watch the other five dragoons begin to walk past me towards the door, but I knew what I want to do with my spare time.
“Hey Raye,” I ask, lightly tapping her on the shoulder. “Can you check my belongings for me? Just ask the innkeeper for my key as well, I need to go do something.”
“Oh, um, sure!” Raye asks, a bit startled by my sudden request. Her eyes then narrow, realizing what I likely had in mind. “You want to say hi to your family right?”
“Yeah, I haven’t seen them in a while.”
“You can count on me Lau, enjoy your day alright!” She beams before joining the other four dragoons. With that settled, I step down the inn steps and made my way to the Noble District myself, passing under the Noble Walls through an archway. The portcullis was naturally up as the city was not besieged, but the legionnaires remain ever vigilant atop the bastions. Mages, easily identifiable by their large, elaborate staves, also patrol this line of the walls among the traditional pikemen indicating the increased value the crown placed on these defenses.
My own home was a fair ways off from the gates, tucked in its own corner along one of the Arcane Walls further to the north. My mother, though a drakken, was granted nobility status due to her premier status as a Rune Mage, which the elves sincerely lack in their magical studies. Thus, she taught as a professor at the Royal Magicka University, and granted nobility by the past queen for her personal research. She purchased her home from an impoverished noble, and refurnished it first for herself, and then for her daughter, and then me.
Our home was unmistakable because of its large astronomy tower that protruded from its roof where mother enjoyed to spend most of her time in. Nobles pass me by as I make my way northward, most of them paying me no heed, too busy admiring themselves. I also see a few old acquaintances and bullies near their family homes, some of them even having children now. I was never particularly close to anyone in Ilmeiya, partly because I was naturally quiet and partly because I was a drakken and not an elf, so I did not bother approaching them since it was doubtful that any of them would recognize me. It was a bit sad, but I was content with the idea that while none of them may not recognize me anymore, I had achieved fame and glory while they remain squabbling in dynastic struggles.
Eventually, the familiar black tower became visible above the rest of the roofs of the city, and I quicken my pace to the mansion. Four-thirty-three…four-thirty-five…four-thirty-seven Cerulean Boulevard, the large metal gates of our courtyard staring at me. I walk up to the gate and lightly tap the amulet next to it, a curious, little purple orb that immediately hums to life. It was our door knocker, really.
“Identification? Do you have a reason for being here?” The orb asks in a dark, raspy, and particularly menacing voice.
“Hi, it’s me, Lamorak.”
The amulet briefly glows brighter, but remains silent, as if surprised. Then it speaks again. “The younger mistress…Enter. It is good to see you again.”
The gate swings open with that, and I make my way into the yard, the gate once again locking firmly behind me as I pass through. The door to the main mansion was already open before I had even reached the steps of it. Inside the doorway was a young woman, another drakken, with jet black hair and vibrant, pink eyes. She was wearing a simple white blouse with black pants and apron over it, her hair tied in a ponytail. She must have been cooking something before I arrived.
“Sis!” She exclaims, and I beam, holding my arms out wide to embrace her. “I missed you so much!”