Over the next week, the bustle in the castle slowly turned into a constant and orderly flow of workers, soldiers, and recruiters bringing new men into the castle and there was a lot of work to be done. Flora spent most of her time with Mirabella and they grew close.
The girl had even told Mirabella about what happened in her room that day. They were forming a friendship. Mirabella also took the role of a mother explaining things to her and showing her what it meant to be a woman. Dresses, manners, and much more.
Flora couldn’t have been any happier. She and Faust had come to a silent acknowledgment of their feelings and had spent a few hours together every day. One of their favorite spots was the flower garden Mirabella cultivated in the castle. It was a garden full of roses, Flora's favorite flowers.
They clung to one another yet nothing more than a sneaky kiss on the cheek happened between them in this week. They had no problems expressing their emotions to one another but tried to keep it hidden from everybody else.
Faust had spent most of his day with Leona. They practiced wrestling and rehearsed what he had learned on the first day. He was now much more balanced, and Leona had a harder time tripping him. He continued eating like a berserker and within 2 weeks his body didn’t look malnourished at all anymore. One could even see faint muscles appearing on the still-thin body.
This may partly be attributed to the additional rations of meat he received from Schenk, very much to the disdain of Aquila and Cassius who yearned for more of it, but they didn’t complain since they could see how thin their comrade was.
The time with Leona was always a pleasure. They made the open space outside of the city the place of their training and went there every morning and afternoon. During their training Leona was focused, cold, and a rough teacher. The training left him with bruises and scratches nearly every day, but they healed without much trouble. He could feel his strength increasing after only a week already, but that was mainly to be attributed to his body slowly building up muscle and fat to a healthy level.
Before and after their training Leona was always cheerful. She continued teasing him from time to time, but he could feel that something had changed. He didn’t know what exactly though. He felt attracted to Leona, but his emotions towards Flora were much more intense.
Both knew they couldn’t be together due to their status. It just wasn’t possible. Still, Leona was an incredibly athletic and vibrant woman who seemed to always have energy, even when they had just practiced for 4 hours.
Her awareness of the situation added an undeniable layer of unspoken desire between them, driven not only by circumstance but also by the hormonal undercurrents that subtly shaped their interactions.
On the last day of the week, they stood before one another, topless, Leona with her bandages to cover herself. Both panted and sweat poured down their glistering upper bodies. Their eyes locked, and a charged silence enveloped them.
Leona, suppressing a playful smile, gently bit her lip. Faust, a mixture of nerves and attraction, absentmindedly scratched his head. The unspoken acknowledgment of their mutual allure lingered in the air.
Yet both knew that they couldn’t be together. Leona had learned of the relationship between Flora and Faust which made it easier for her to resist the temptation. However, it didn't hinder her from displaying her athletic prowess and relishing the physical touch during their wrestling sessions, even if it carried a raw, almost violent, quality.
Faust could only sigh.
‘Her body is so soft yet so firm at the same time. She’s such a good teacher. But I can’t help being distracted at times.’
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The slender yet powerful silhouette, the allure of her back, and the delicate curve of her neck stirred something primal within him. The palpable tension simmered beneath their practiced composure, an unspoken acknowledgment of desires left unexplored.
Leona found herself yearning for a simpler life, even though she couldn't help but chuckle at her own thoughts. She liked the boy, no doubt about it, but he was just a commoner. Yet, he had an appealing blend of humor and a warrior's spirit. She often pondered the dynamics of their friendship.
The wrestling practice made great leaps, nonetheless. It helped improve Faust’s physique and stability. It also was a welcome way to increase his strength and escape the dreadful thoughts that would enter his mind when he was alone.
Their friendship had become much closer during that week, and Schenk couldn't help but smile approvingly at the genuine bond forming between Faust and Leona, recognizing the value of a good friend. He was happy for his daughter.
About 100 new recruits had arrived in the past week and filled one of the newly furnished towers of the castle. Training for these new soldiers would begin the next day. Leona, Faust, Aquila, and Cassius would also begin their training tomorrow.
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At the same time, Antioch City, Raven’s Refuge Pier
Raven’s Refuge Pier was one of the smaller docks in the great city of Antioch. It was mainly used by small traders, smugglers, and a few transport businesses. The docks featured warehouses, and small houses that were made nearly completely out of white stone, just like the rest of the city. It looked elegant and timeless. The stone was smoothly polished.
There was room for only a few small boats that were all tied to small bollards, forged pieces of metal built into the stone one could tie ships to. Not many waves reached into the harbor, but one could hear the waves quietly hitting the rocks.
Besides the ships, there were a few arches on which a building was built. Only the backside of it showed to the harbor. It was a very hidden dock one could only access through a small side road in a back alley. It was located in Nebula Refuge, the port area of the city.
At the side of the docks, underneath the beautiful arches there sat 2 men, one uglier than the other, playing dice and drinking beer in the light of a small oil lamp.
In this very place an event, that would change the continent's history forever, a small ship arrived. Barely big enough for 2 people to stay on. When it came into the port the two men looked at it with wonder. It didn’t have a sail or oars and it had weird, crimson runes on its sides that gave off a dim light that they had never seen before. Both men stood up when the ship arrived at an empty place in the dock. For a few minutes, nothing happened.
“Accius, let us check that out… that’s one of our bollards… we got to tell him he can’t stay here…” one of the two nervously said to the other.
“Why don’t you go then? I don’t like this at all. Have you ever seen a ship with runes that was moving without oars or a sail?”
The men were anxious. They were only small-time criminals. They had families to feed. After a bit of bickering, they both advanced towards the boat. As they approached, they could hear a door opening and closing on said boat and the runes disappeared from its hull.
They could hear steps on wood. When they got closer and attempted to see with their oil lamp they saw a hooded figure approaching them. It was clothed all in black and the face was not visible in the dim light. The two men were quite fearful as they knew something was off. The aura this person gave off reeked of blood.
They had seen killers and the faint aura they gave off, but if their aura was a small river, then the man before them had the aura of a vast ocean.
“Where am I?” the figure asked with a hoarse voice. It was a man. His hands remained hidden under the coat.
The two men looked at one another fearfully before making way. One of them replied.
“The Kingdom of Salutio, Antioch City, this is Raven’s Refuge… a small pier…” the man continued to explain when suddenly the man charged forward in between the criminals and put his hands onto their faces.
His actions were so fast that they had no chance to react.
‘What inhumane speed!’ they thought. But that thought was also their last.
When his hands landed on their faces, they emitted a bright green light that enveloped them and seemed to pull energy out of them. The light emitted was ethereal and seemed like a stream of energy that was absorbed into his body. After a second of this, both men broke down on the floor.
Their faces seemed old. His actions had sucked their very life force out of them. They had become old men in a mere second and died.
“How weak. Pathetic.” He kicked the two into the water. Then he looked up at the sky.
“Salutio… I’ve never heard of it… which means that I’ve discovered a new continent!” the man laughed heinously in the silent night.
This man would change the history of the continent forever.