The palace of the Xao family on Xia-Long was something of fairytales. Massive pillars made of gold held up a red metal Chinese-style roof. Some statues looked all too real for most; they even had an unnerving aura. As many times as Axel Arbors had seen it, he was still enamored by the pure beauty of the palace. Xao-Li led his friend through the palace to meet with his dad. Xao-Li was pretty sure he knew what his father’s answer would be, but he still hoped his friend would get what he came for.
“Little Prince Arbors has returned to Xia-Long,” Patriarch Xao said.
Axel gave a slight bow, “Patriarch Xao.”
“What can I do for you?”
“I need help,” Axel said. “I am looking for a root from the mother tree. Do you believe that the elves would be willing to trade for it?”
“I doubt it,” Patriarch replied, bored. “The elves are notorious for being difficult to trade with, especially with their own personal things.” The Patriarch held up a finger to forestall Axel’s complaints. “Why?”
“With all do respect, I cannot tell you that,” Axel said.
“Then I can no longer help you, young prince,” he said. He waved his hand in front of Axel’s face. “Get out of my sight, the last remnant of a disgraceful kingdom.”
Axel’s face twisted in anger, “what did you just say?”
“Oh no,” Xao-Li said. He immediately thought of the last time a summoner was in the Battle of the Guilds. Xao-Li stepped in between his father and Axel. “Come friend, your asked your question it’s time to leave.”
“Listen to Xao-Li,” the Patriarch said. Any wrong step could be the end of your pathetic life.” Axel glared at the man but said nothing. He turned quickly and made his way out of the palace. Xao-Li followed close behind.
“Axel, Axel wait,” Xao-Li called. “Where are you going?”
“To do what I did the last time someone talked about my family name,” Axel growled. Xao-Li’s movement slowed to a halt. He unsheathed his sword.
“I like our friendship, Axel Arbors,” his voice was flinty. “Not enough to allow you to make threats against my kingdom.”
“Put you sword down, Xao-Li,” Axel said. “You’d die a hundred times over before you got anywhere close to me.”
“Is that so?” Xao-Li asked.
“It is,” Axel turned from the man and kept walking from the palace. "The next time you see my face, Xao-Li,” Axel called. It will be the last day you live. Advice from a friend: Don’t ever see my face again.” A large white portal arch appeared in front of Axel. Golden swirls filled the center of the portal arch. He stepped through without so much as a glance back to Xao-Li.
Axel stewed as he made his way to the castle. His mind was replaying that night he killed someone during the Battle of the Guild. There was a knock on the door.
“Sire,” a voice sounded.
“What is it?”
“There is an elf representative from Stravenia here to see you, a princess and her guards.”
“What?” Axel got out of his chair and made his way to the waiting room. There, sitting in a chair, was an elf. She had the perfect posture of elves. She had alabaster skin and light blue eyes. Her blonde hair fell past her shoulders. She was everything that Axel had envisioned an elf princess would look like. A small tiara sat on top of her head. It was golden, with blue streams surrounding the golden bar.
“Hello,” Axel said, walking up to the elf.
“Good evening,” she stood and curtsied. She was shorter than he was and had the slender frame typical to elves in this world. She was wearing white leather armor with several knives strapped to her legs. A bandolier went across her chest, holding several more knives. She wore a light blue cloak that matched the colors of her tiara. There was a crest on the cloak with golden trim with the same blue design as her tiara. “Please accept my apologies, Your Highness, for showing up without forewarning.”
“Yes of course, I am Axel Arbors,” Axel stated. She frowned.
“Do you not still hold the title of crown prince?”
“Of a kingdom that no longer exists,” Axel said.
“And yet you live,” the elf replied. “Tell me, Prince, how does that work?”
“The same way that I am still a prince and not a king being the last surviving member.”
“And how is that?”
“It just does,” Axel said.
“I see. I am Princess Aralyn, the fifth daughter of King Althmar.”
“King Althmar is still alive… my mentor used to be good friends with your father.”
“By the blessings of the mother tree, he still lives. I have heard tales of your mentor and my father being close. They fought together.”
“I assume so. What can I do for you Princess?”
“Nothing, especially,” Aralyn said. “I simply wanted to make an introduction. To hear about the legendary leader of the League of Order. Now I got to meet him in the flesh.” She paused, scanning him head to toe. “And I must say, you are much more impressive than stories tell.”
“Is that so?” Axel asked.
“It is indeed,” Aralyn said. “I will be staying in town for a few weeks, conducting some business in the city. I do hope we can meet for dinner at one of those nights.”
“When your affairs are in order, let me know, and I will arrange a night,” Axel said.
“A gentleman,” she mused. “I should be free for dinner in a day or two.”
“Great, I will arrange a meal for us here. Shall we do in two days?”
“Sure, it will give me something to look forward to.” She reached out a hand; Axel took it. Her hand was soft and smooth. She looked up at Axel, staring into his golden eyes, and smiled, “Take care pretty boy.” Aralyn let her hand linger as she walked away from Axel. She left the room shortly after one last glance.
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“Well,” Axel said. “That was certainly interesting.” Later that night, Axel was training with several of his servants. They would fire many different attacks, and he would create different rituals to help protect himself. A rogue arrow that was shrouded in darkness came flying toward him. A meter before it landed on its target, it stopped dead in the air and then dropped to the ground. In Axel’s hand was his weapon, the golden-white cobra staff. Its eyes were glowing, and its mouth was open, absorbing the kinetic energy of the arrow.
Axel smiled and looked at his servants. " My turn," he said. Before he could attack, he heard clapping. He turned his head to see the Princess watching him. She jumped from the perch she was staring at and landed without a sound before him. It was a moonless night, yet her hair still glowed like the moon was shining on her.
“My affairs are in order,” she said by way of greeting. She got close to him, looking him in the eyes. “Perhaps you can treat me to dinner… tonight.”
Axel narrowed his eyes at her, “how did you get passed my summons?”
“They were very good,” Aralyn said. “But I am better.”
“I’m starting to get that impression, Princess. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were stalking me.”
“That would be unbecoming of a Princess now wouldn’t it?”
Axel nodded slightly, “I suppose it would. Come,” he said. “I will show you where we will be dining, I must freshen up.”
“Are you afraid that I’ll run away because of a little stink?”
“I’ve heard that elves are particular about hygiene; it won’t take long.” Axel watched as Aralyn stared her light blue eyes into his. He got the sense that she was testing him for something. What that was precisely, he had no idea.
Axel was unsettled as he took his shower. His summons were high-ranked Order Guardians. Their return to their realm would have alerted Axel, yet he still felt their presence. He also had some aura-sensing summons that would create a horrifying noise if they sensed an aura trying to sneak in. And yet, none of his protective measures worked. Aralyn still managed to sneak into his compound and watch him train.
Fury crossed his face the more he thought about it. Axel Arbors did not have a good day. First, the Patriarch mocked him, then he threatened his friend in embarrassment and anger, and now his summons was not doing their job properly. Axel shook his head, feeling the warm water run down his back. He took a deep breath and got out of the shower.
In the dining hall Aralyn sat at a seat waiting patiently. Her eyes were closed as she meditated. Meditation always made her calm; she had no idea why her mistress sent her here. Aralyn was always sent on dangerous missions, which she had no issues with. However, this man was a practitioner of Order magic, which was her field of expertise as well. She had never heard of the man, Axel Arbors, except for the fact that he was once a prince to a once proud and thriving nation that had lost a war and most of its family.
She found that information to be most interesting. Then, the further she looked into the man, the more intrigued she got. He was very good at being very bad. Axel Arbors was not a good person, which was even more interesting being a practitioner of Order magic. It didn't hurt Aralyn per se, but it made her question her intentions even more. However, Aralyn was a loyal servant, and she trusted her mistress.
This led her to this point. She was never someone who moved so directly, but there was urgency in the letter received from her mistress, which meant Aralyn had to take it a step further. That was why she intentionally showed up to have that dinner with Axel. Her eyebrows furrowed, and after thinking through everything, she took a long, calming breath.
“Calm it down, Aralyn,” she said to herself. “You have been on many missions, and this one is no different.” She felt her tension leave her body as her control regained. She pushed her aura over the room and noticed that there were several runic formations scattered around haphazardly. They were weak, which made sense; they were runic formations. However, there were many of them. She frowned, but she did not know what this runic formation did.
Aralyn wasn't bothered to look at it any deeper; whatever it was, it was failing to affect her. She had an ability that blocked anything from affecting her judgment, discernment, or mental/emotional faculties. She could feel that it was trying, but to no avail. Before she could think further, the door opened to admit her host.
She slowly opened her eyes, “Feel more presentable?”
“I do,” Axel said with a nod. He had schooled his fury before walking into the room. Dinner carts rolled in the moment he took a seat. The two of them engaged in small talk while they ate until Axel grew tired of it.
“Now tell me, Princess Aralyn.. Why are you really here?” Axel asked.
“I fail to understand your meaning?”
“You understand me just fine,” Axel said. “You have intelligent eyes. They are scheming, scanning looking for something. They look at me like you’re searching my soul for a piece of a puzzle that you seemed to have misplaced.”
“How poetic,” she replied slowly.
“What is this game?”
“You will learn soon enough, Prince,” Aralyn said teasingly.
“You dare mock me?”
“I don’t dare to do anything.”
“Hmmm,” Axel huffed. “I’ll ask one more time. Why. are. You. Here?” he bit off each word as he spoke it. The fury rose with a vengeance. Aralyn’s smirk dropped, and she took on a serious face. Her ever-scanning eyes continued to scan.
“They are truth telling formations,” Aralyn said. She closed her eyes. “They aren’t bad but they are not strong enough for me.” She opened them to see a shocked look on his face. “Don’t worry a ritual will have no effect on me either. It is quite clever. You certainly are a strong magic-user, there is no doubt about that.”
“Why do I get the impression that you are stronger?”
“I am not,” Aralyn said. “But I am better.”
“Is that so?” Axel asked challengingly.
“Yes,” she replied with no hint of deceit.
“What makes you say that?”
“You cannot control your rage,” Aralyn said. “It fires you up, you react and do something dumb. You fail to see the next steps ahead when you’re angry. Think about the Battle of the Guilds, what happened?”
“How do you know about that?” Axel asked.
“I did my research, prince,” she said challengingly. Tell me the story, and I will tell you my true purpose in coming to you.” Axel clenched his jaw and nodded slowly.
“Fine,” Axel said. “As you know, the Battle of the Guilds is a chance to show all the progress each guild has made and show off their young talents. Since guilds are only a year-long program, they happen every year with new talent. I was a top mark for the Summoners, so I got to represent them.
I had just beaten the rogues and my friend Xao-Li. The next opponent was the warrior guild. They were a bunch of goody two-shoe paladins. The whole team of six were ready to fight. The battle field was set, it was a large open field. Rolling green hills, not a tree or bushes in sight. The grass was up to my hip, which meant everyone would have been slowed. Right away, I start creating several ritual circles, summoning circles, and conjuring some order kinetic energy armor.
I summoned some fire finches. About five hundred of them,” Aralyn whistled at the sheer amount that Axel summoned. Axel continued, “They were fast and a decent swarm monster. The swarm did severe damage to one of the paladins, and he was forced out of the competition.
They started attacking the swarm and sending my summons back to the realm where I found them. I was getting frustrated, and then one of the paladins came up to me and said, ‘The final Arbors will fall today and end the reign of the worst kingdom ever,’ So I beat him. My armor absorbed all the kinetic energy in his armor, freezing him in place. I then grabbed his sword and slowly cut his face open. The effects would cause bleeding and a lot of pain, but you know what it wouldn’t cause?”
“Death,” Aralyn said.
“Death,” Axel nodded. “The bubble shields they provided were supposed to be instantaneous. However, they needed actually to form around the person. But there was always a slight delay. A slight delay was all I needed. I conjured a sword of Order. A pristine white double-edged sword. It was the sharpest thing I ever cut with.
I ordered my finches to sit on the outside of his metal armor and charge their fire mana. The inside of the armor began to grow in extreme heat. The paladin started screaming in agony as the metal armor was glowing with heat. The amount of pain was still not enough to cause the bubble shield. I drew another summoning circle, an Order Guardian. I instructed the guardian to end the life, like all things Order magic, it obeyed with out remorse.
With unseen quickness and efficiency, the head of the paladin fell to the floor. I grabbed the head and held it up. For all to see, this was what happened when you talked about my family. I used a summon to kill the guy who talked about my family, all to prove a point.”
“What point was that?” Aralyn said, her eyes unwavering.
“You don’t mess with Summoners,” Axel said. “They are a scary, scary group of magic-users.”