Blinking a few times as I stared towards the grey rocky ceiling of the cave I'd spent an oddly comfortable night in,my body slowly willed itself into an upright seating position as I stretched each aching part of my body,still adjusting to my awakened state I stared down at my legs to find blankets covering them and a warmth radiating from my back that came from Belrogs rhythmic breathing.
"you know I want to thank you right now but...there's a bed right over there"
I pointed at the bed now stripped of its blankets and pillow and looked back at Belrog who gave a disgruntled huff of air before rolling onto it's side,sighing at the beast I threw my blankets off and placed them neatly onto the bed for anyone else who was unlucky enough to sleep inside.As I placed the pillow back onto the bed my mind took the time to focus on the deep blue colour of my mana flame causing me to tremble a bit while the memories of my last meditation sprang to life with the unbearable pain and torture resurfacing like I was reliving the entire thing,gritting my teeth as I honestly detested going through the experience again it quickly became clear there was no other alternative than to move forward this way.
"dammit,it just has to be Yelaine huh?"
frowning, I closed my eyes and began the excruciating mediation that I could only hope would become more bearable as time went on.A searing pain and a feeling of electrocution this time around I opened my eyes once more,finding myself sprawled on the floor in a starfish position feeling almost entirely paralyzed from my arms down.
"from stabbing to electrocution,this is going to leave some serious mental scars and it wasn't even worth it...."
sighing as I took a look at my mana flame that hadn't changed even slightly in colour,I sat there for what felt like a few minutes before movement finally came back to my lower body allowing me to pull myself up and have a little stretch before making my way to Belrog who gave an annoyed grunt before heaving itself up and waiting for me to saddle myself.
"let's hit it, there's a bed and a hot pile of paperwork waiting for me back home!!"
Belrog rolled it's eyes to my enthusiasm but sped off out of the cave at maximum speed as I struggled to hold on from the sudden burst of acceleration,the clear grass plane was back in full view with various other caves now viewable which I assumed were more of the odd safe stations that were most probably dug up as protection from mana beasts however I had yet to confirm whether this was the actual reasoning.
After passing the dozens of safe stations the view ahead was clear emerald glass once more before a wide dust road appeared causing my face to light up at the sight,slowing our pace a bit Belrog transitioned to the dust road while jerking it's head left and right a few times as I strained my eyes ahead of us for the sight I'd been anxious to see once more.
The journey felt more like we'd been going in an invisible loop as the dust road seemed to have no end,occasional trees would appear and disappear behind us in the distance to the point where I could slowly feel myself being driven mad by the experience.
"I've had enough damnit,were we on the wrong path or something it's been 30 damned minutes and it's just more and more walking!!"
I shouted with my head pointing to the clear blue sky that was just as plain as the landscape in front of me.
"If I ever find Cale again I'll be sure to-"
my voice was cut off by Belrog who let out a yawn towards me and directed it's head to a towering grey wall with a gleaming silver sliding gate and imbedded obsidian wyvern heads beside the gate,a sigh of relief almost escaped my lungs before I caught sight of a person followed by a twinkle of light and instinctively ducked my head just in time to dodge the arrow that had been shot right where my head used to be.
"STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!!"
obeying the speakers words I pulled the reigns around Belrog, bringing it to a stop and slowly raised my hands in an attempt to assert my peaceful arrival.
"THAT MANA BEAST GET OFF IT AND WALK HERE WITH YOUR HANDS VISIBLY ABOVE YOUR HEAD!!"
'I know it's probably his job but this just seems excessive'
sighing I walked towards the gate with arms held firmly above my head before I stopped in front of the silver gate and waited,a minute passed by and I was met with a knight clad in battered and cracked silver armour, his eyes were of ocean blue and his face was littered with still healing scars that gave him a sickly yet intimidating appearance.
"drop the sword"
surprised I looked back down to my waist where I'd unneatly placed my gift from the Roswaals,chuckling I pulled the sword and dropped it on the ground to which the man kicked it as far away from me as he could before giving me a piercing glare.I was quickly given a light search before eventually being directed into the city itself and Belrog was surprisingly allowed inside with the minor inconvenience of four guards on each of its side,laughing under my breath at Belrogs personal guards I finally layed my eyes upon the city of Loridea.
The buildings and inn's stood firmly but far from untouched,craters and gaping holes were evident across their sides and fronts with a few knights assisting in repairing some of the damaged buildings and inn's,my eyes soon ran over the dozens of knights wearing half finished armour that looked as if it'd been ripped off their bodies however even so they looked relatively fine other than the gloomy expressions painted across their faces.
Walking behind the Knight and past the depressed knights kneeling or smashing their fists into walls or on the ground we soon entered a scene that caused even Belrog to lower it's head as if sensing the wave of sadness and despair circulating within the area, woman,men and children alike wore all black attires and their hands clasped together as if in a constant prayer of some sorts,some would break down and fall onto their knees and into a fit of tears and weeping as others would come down and comfort them with a prayer or strokes on their backs.
"I hope I'm not being rude but what's going here?..."
"it's a memorial"
"memorial for who?,sorry I just don't remember anyone ever getting a huge memorial or anything"
the knight escorting me raised a brow however the silent walk must've bored him slightly as he reluctantly answered my question.
"Yelaine Droxinia,she was confirmed dead just a few hours ago"
"who said I was dea-"
my voice was cut off as my escort made an abrupt stop causing me to accidentally bump into his back,rubbing my head slightly I looked up to the tall seemingly new building with a polished hanging wooden sign and the words "Captains board" written across it in gleaming gold.The escort stood out of the way and made a gesture to the shining obsidian door now visible in front of me.
"you're no longer my problem, Captain Felmonte"
I raised a brow as the knight turned and held Belrog by the reigns,fully ready to leave.
"is this all necessary, I mean I am a citizen here"
barely turning his head to meet me, the knight gave a light scoff before replying to my statement.
"never seen you before"
'dam that hurts'
sighing as the knight separated Belrog from me I pushed the obsidian door open to meet a long running near endless hallway accompanied by polished wooden benches that I gladly took a seat on,sinking into the cushions of the bench I took the time to examine the building even further.The walls were off the same obsidian black with countless miniscule runes etched within it,Flickering blue lanterns held in the ceiling gave light to the hallway however it gave it a somewhat eerie look.
"yes i'll be sure not to make the same mistake again!!"
"Great now leave Velgra"
pulling me away from my inspection of the hallway I turned to the direction of a tall leather armoured man with messy jet black hair and eyes of a vivid green,scratching his neck a bit to the voice behind the door he'd just exited our soon met and he gave a quick polite nod before turning towards the door.
"Next!!,to whoever's just sitting there like a complete idiot!!"
standing up hurriedly at the sudden beckoning to me I entered the door left wide open by the odd individual,a low chill grazed my skin as I entered the brightly lit room filled with neatly stacked papers and perfectly placed wooden cupboards that were also.....polished....
A chair stood bolted to the wooden floor and a woman dressed in a red and black robe with a metallic badge in the shape of a crow pinned to the right of her chest closed the door behind me that quickly transformed from a door to just the wall,surprised I watched as she walked towards a desk I hadn't noticed yet where a man wearing the same attire sat with his hands clasped together on top of the desk he sat behind.
His eyes were a bright violet and his hair was of a dirty silver and short that ended at his chin,the woman standing beside him wore the same violet e
eyes except her hair was a dull red.looking between the two I soon decided they were waiting for me to take a seat and did just that:ignoring how hard the chair was.
"you're speaking to Clairvoyas Felmonte,current captain of the Loridea protection and clarification team,a respectful head bow is necessary here"
'really fancy way of saying a guard division..'
sighing I bowed my head reluctantly while resisting the urge to scoff or roll my eyes.
"right since my introduction has been fulfilled would you mind doing the same....?"
"oh right!!"
my face lit up to the question and I almost bolted off my seat had it not been the stern and piercing gaze of the woman standing beside Clairvoyas that caused me to resist the urge.
"Yelaine Droxinia,that's my name...."
The captains face furrowed and contorted to what looked like a scowl before a light chuckle escaped his mouth.
"You're Yelaine Droxinia?,the proud and powerful warrior who led Loridea and likely the whole world to victory against the 3rd calamity?,if it's not clear to you then I'd have a look at your level as a mage...."
I opened my mouth to refute the statement however the words were practically clogged in my throat as the statement held a fair amount of truth in it.
"it's a long story but-"
"I don't think you're truly understanding the gravity of your statement,the entire city...no to be more precise the entire kingdom is mourning the death of Yelaine and you come here posing as her?Did you think you'd somehow gain her countless riches,shoot yourself to the top of society?!"
"no i-"
Standing up from his seat Clairvoyas gazed at me menacingly before walking towards me and slamming two pieces of parchment rolled and tied with silver ribbons,as Clairvoyas now paced the room silently watching me I slowly untied the ribbons from the parchment and was left with my mouth wanting to drop straight to the groun.
My name was written in bold at the top of the parchment that harbored an image underneath of what was supposed to be me but was far from it,The person in general had long flowing black hair and a muscular physique,her body was littered in long healed scars and wore a stern and serious look.Arguably the only thing that I could even link back to myself was the familiar armour she wore causing me to scoff under my breath as I hadn't brought it along with me.
Sighing I looked over to the second piece of parchment and started reading it in a whispered voice that slowly rose higher in pitch the more i read.
"Carefully examining the blast sight of Ms Yelaine's final battle remnants such as Yelaine's sword and fragments of armour have been located however sadly the body could not be found,the sheer damage and state of the landscape including Yelaine's armour fragments and the area's mana density points to immediate.....incineration....unfortunately a blast such as this even for Yelaine would've resulted in..death...."
"Yelaine is dead"
"i-i don't underst-wait where's Curtis and Erebore they can surely prove my-"
"Curtis and Erebore are currently off our sensors and..were in fact the ones to confirm Yelaine's death,besides why would I arrange them here for the likes of you?"
Suppressing the anger and annoyance building up within me as I clenched the arms of my chair tightly the thought of my parents soon sprang to life in my head causing the manners I'd showcased before to completely disappear as I stood from the fixed position of my chair.
"my parents,where are they?,they'll remember their own daughter won't they, their citizens even if you don't believe my claim you can't deny me meeting the-"
Clairvoyas paused his pacing and stood with his back towards me for a few minutes before turning around with an expression that spoke volumes before the words themselves escaped from his mouth.
"Melissa and Fenril Droxinia are dead"