The sun peeked from the top of the trees when Seventeen stood in front of the back gateway of the academy. A light mist hung low on the ground.
Selene was perched on his shoulder. He stroked her silver feathers as she relaxed. "Look. If you want to come then you should be ready to pass through a warp gate.", he told her.
The falcon was aloof and was interested in the spear tip of one of the guards. Seventeen sighed, "Alright. Get flying but you must find me.", he relented. With a happy cry, Selene spread her wings and flew in the direction of the Corvinian Mountains.
"You are a lucky man, instructor Seventeen.", one of the guards remarked as he casually leaned against his spear.
"What do you mean?", Seventeen asked.
The guard smiled, "It's not every day that you get to accompany a Cardinal in their ventures.", he said.
"Is that a good thing?"
"Of course. It means that the headmaster trusts you very much. I am envious.", the guard nodded his head.
Seventeen, "Don't worry. You will have your chance one day."
The sound of gears and metallic hooves broke the stillness of the morning. Seventeen turned around and saw Zephyrus riding a mechanical horse with his assistant behind him on another one. The horses shone silver and their sapphire eyes glowed bright blue.
Magia glowed from every gap in their outer shells and Seventeen can catch a glimpse of numerous gears turning inside the horses.
'These things are marvels of technology for the time period.', he thought.
(Indeed. Their technology has advanced a lot with the help of magia. I am intrigued to see more machines like these horses.)
"Morning Seventeen!", Zephyrus greeted him with a wide smile. His secretary alighted from her steed and guided it to Seventeen. "Your ride, Instructor Seventeen.", she said with a polite smile.
"Thanks.", Seventeen took the reins and mounted the mechanical horse. He passed magia into the reins and its eyes glowed. Blue steam puffed out of its nostrils as it made a sound that must've been a snort.
"Morning Headmaster.", he greeted back as he got used to his new mechanical companion. Despite appearances, these horses are really comfortable to ride.
"Usually it would take a month to reach the Corvinian mountains but with these bad boys.", Zephyrus patted his horse, "We will be much faster."
"There is an old warp gate at the back part of the Lost Woods that we restored. I use it for certain visits similar to this one. The warp gates in the academy are only connected to each other and it would be a bit hectic to reconfigure them."
"And the warp gates in Crystalis city will attract attention so this old gate was a blessing. I had configured the location to another warp gate in the town nearest to the Corvinian Mountains yesterday. So we only need to pass through it.", Zephyrus explained.
Seventeen nodded, "Alright then. Let's head out."
Both of them spurred their horses and left the academy gates. The metallic hooves of the horses thundered against the ground as their speed increased.
Soon they were deep into the Lost Woods and slowed to a trot. Zephyrus searched around, "Ah there it is.", and guided his horse to some ruins.
Seventeen followed him and they reached an ancient warp gate made of white stone. Compared to the other parts of the ruins that were broken and covered with vegetation, the gate was well kept.
But the age of the gate was apparent by the many cracks and dull look of the white stone. Some of the runes looked like they were engraved over old, faded ones.
"Oh yeah.", Zephyrus looked at Seventeen. "You should wear your mask. We don't want people to know your actual identity yet."
Seventeen nodded and took out his fox mask, "Please don't call me Black Fox. It sounds weird. My new alias is Virgil."
(Finally. You are coming up with some good names.)
Zephyrus pouted, "But I liked Black Fox.". he protested.
Seventeen glared at him. "Fine. Virgil, it is.", he relented.
"Good.", Seventeen put on his mask. He then concentrated and changed the color of his hair to white.
Zephyrus whistled, "So that is the feature that enables you to alter your appearance. That is pretty useful.", he remarked.
"Yup.", Seventeen agreed. He had asked Prime about the feature. It was a fairly simple trick. He felt dumb for not learning about it.
Zephyrus placed his hand on the pedestal of the warp gate. The runes glowed blue and the space inside the gate warped and with a pop, a big town appeared. In the distance, they could see their destination, the Corvinian Mountains.
Seventeen was awestruck by the sheer size of the mountains. They could be seen as far as the academy. Now that they are closer, he could see that the mountains dwarfed everything in the landscape.
A middle-aged man with blonde hair and a well-trimmed beard stood on the other side with a kind smile.
They passed the warp gate. "Good morning, Cardinal Zephyrus. I have been awaiting your arrival.", the man greeted with a warm smile.
"Good morning to you too Albert. The beard suits you.", Zephyrus said with a smile. He turned to Seventeen.
"This is Albert Doser, the governor of this town. He is an old friend of mine. His town is the closest to our stronghold and provides the supplies necessary for its running.", he introduced the man.
"Albert. This is my assistant Virgil. He joined two months ago.", Zephyrus introduced Seventeen.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, lord Albert.", Seventeen said with a nod.
"Likewise, Mr. Virgil.", Albert said, briefly glancing at the fox mask. Zephyrus noticed.
"Virgil has to wear a mask due to personal reasons.", he explained. "It's fine, Cardinal. Wearing a mask is not unusual at all. Some warlocks wear them for reasons. And who am I to question them?", Albert said with a chuckle.
"Let's get to the matter at hand.", He changed the topic. "The Sword Princess came early in the morning. She asked me to inform you about her arrival.", he informed them.
"Jade huh.", Zephyrus sighed. "I told her to take her time."
"The Cardinal Knights asked me to give you these."Albert brought out two bracelets. Small runes were etched on their surfaces and a small piece of teleport stone is embedded in them.
"Wear these so that the barrier around the site can recognize you and let you in. Use the teleport stones to pop back into the stronghold.', he instructed them.
Zephyrus nodded and handed one of the bracelets to Seventeen. "Thank you, Albert. How about I treat you to a drink after this?", he offered.
Albert chuckled, "Sure. It has been some time since we had a drink together."
Zephyrus and Seventeen proceeded to ride north towards the mountains that grew bigger the closer they got. Soon they were the only things in sight.
After an hour of riding, they reached the stronghold. The Cardinal knights stationed there bowed when Zephyrus passed them. But most of them were looking at Seventeen.
"Is that the assistant accompanying the Cardinal?', one of them asked her fellow knight who shrugged, "Seems like it. I like the mask.", she giggled.
They were guided to the command room. "Captain Aria is waiting for you.", their guide informed them. Zephyrus nodded and opened the door.
Jade Aria was looking out of the window towards the cavern containing the Gateway. She turned around and smiled, "Good morning Headmaster."
Zephyrus sighed, "How many times do I have to remind you to call me Cardinal? You are no longer a student."
"Oops. Sorry about that.", Jade replied in mock surprise
Like Gray, She had very fair skin, although a bit tanned. Her white hair was longer and she kept it free with a silver hair clip that looked like a flower and she had a slim yet athletic figure.
She had bright red eyes, unlike her sister. She wore a white long coat with silver shoulder pads over a grey top and white leggings with silver embroidery, silver gloves, and brown boots. Her white sword was out of her storage ring and now hung from her belt.
She had an air of confidence and elegance. Despite masking her presence, Seventeen can see that it was really powerful and terrifying.
'So this is the Head of an Arken Family.', he thought.
Jade had noticed Seventeen. She cocked her head, "So this is your new assistant?"
Zephyrus nodded, "Yes. This is Virgil. He has to wear a mask due to reasons."
"I was surprised when you mentioned that you were coming with an assistant. You are not the type to take in assistants.", Jade said.
"Well. Virgil can be an exception, he is really talented and knows a lot.", Zephyrus said with a smile.
"Oh.", She extended her hand to Seventeen, "Nice to meet you, Virgil. I am Jade Aria, Captain of Squad 22.", she said with a smile.
Seventeen shook her hand, "It is an honor to meet you, Lady Aria."
"Just call me Jade or Captain. Out here I am a Cardinal Knight, not a Family Head.", she told him.
"It must be hard to be a Family Head.", Seventeen noted. Jade shrugged, "You can say that. The only comfort is that I am not the only young Head now."
"You mean Alice Night?"
She nodded, "Yup and soon Jack Raven is going to join the club."
She looked at Zephyrus, "Oh yes. Thank you, Cardinal, for looking after Gray. I can see that she has become more confident than before. She used to be such a shy and gentle girl.", she chuckled.
Zephyrus smiled, "You should be thanking her instructors. They deserve all the credit."
"Of course. I and Ruth were good friends back in the academy. I should visit her one day along with instructor Seventeen. Gray really looks up to him", Jade said.
"That is good.", Zephyrus laughed and glanced at Seventeen who didn't respond.
"Captain Aria. Can you tell us about the current situation?", he asked the Sword Princess.
"No slacking huh? I like it.", she walked to the door. "I will fill you both in as we walk to the Gateway."
She opened the door and exited the command room. "Follow me.", she said and disappeared at the corner.
"So what do you think about Jade?", Zephyrus asked him.
"She is an interesting person.", Seventeen noted. "So are you in love?", The Cardinal asked with a sly smile.
"Do you prefer eating electricity or getting stabbed?". the android asked back.
"Jeez Seventeen. It's just a joke!"