AHLDRIN immediately bowed as soon as they arrived at the palace. The Lady was confidently sitting on her throne. She wore her green off-shoulder gown embroidered with gold. In her head lies her golden crown with medium-sized ruby in the middle. She was Aserah, the Lady of Noyuh. She possessed the highest position in the Golden Palace, the overall in charge of their domain.
"We get rid of the Alundra," he said after giving his respect.
Aserah stood from the throne, "Good."
"It's surprising to know why the beast escaped from a heavily warded prison." Nahil dived into the conversation.
Nahil was Aserah's second-in-command, and he was the third. He couldn't care less about the hierarchy of positions. He owed his life to Aserah since she welcomed him into her land.
He originally came from Gwiazda. He was the youngest son of Lord Lavino, who governed the Domain of Night and Stars. But he chose to leave his dominion because he wanted freedom. He couldn't stand the competition among his siblings to get the throne. He was not even interested in ruling Gwiazda. His brothers thought he was a threat due to his raw power and extraordinary skills in combat.
For the past five hundred years after leaving Gwiazda, he never had a steady location. He traveled almost the entire Erganiv, but he found his peace here in Noyuh. When Aserah offered him to be his General, he gladly accepted the position. He had been serving Aserah for over four centuries.
"Follow me. We'll discuss something important," Aserah said. She was poised and calculated, as always. Ahldrin had seen no sign of weakness. She was the type of leader willing to die just to protect the citizens of Noyuh.
All of them vanished from the throne room and emerged inside the council chamber. A huge map was neatly layered on the table.
"I looked at the possibilities how the Alundra got escaped, even these unusual things occurring around Noyuh recently. This is not just a minor incident." Aserah said while scrutinizing the map.
"That's what I'm thinking. No prisoner can escape the Sand Castle without someone manipulating from the outside. If my theory is correct, we are dealing with a very dangerous creature." Nahil walked towards Aserah and put her finger on a certain location on the map.
Ahldrin came closer to see what Nahil tried to point out.
"The Sand Castle Prison is at a safe distance near Noyuh, Alsache, and Gwiazda. While Argia is far from it. I bet something similar is happening around Alsache and Gwiazda, just like we experienced here. Based on our geographical location, the vast forest of Noyuh is on Summer and Autumn Region, wherein these are the places we first saw some unusual beasts and unwanted visitors." Nahil explained. A group of fireflies seemed to play around her wings.
"I will talk to the guards on duty at every border. This situation is threatening for the lesser faeries," he spoke seriously. This should have been his mission after the night of Lunar Trifecta. But they were busy celebrating the Artem Festival in honor of the moon. However, he was more astounded when Aserah told him that a mortal accidentally entered the portal in the forest of Noyuh. It puzzled him a lot. How could it be possible?
Portals around Erganiv were open during the night of the super blood blue moon, a rare occurrence because Gwiazda could not control such a phenomenon. However, a mere mortal could not get into this realm. Or else, there might be a hole in the wall.
The idea bothered Ahldrin. Because if it was true, their enemies could sneak in and out, the inevitable war would happen anytime soon.
"There will be a council meeting in Argia a few days from now. The Leaders from each territory will gather. I will leave the palace in your watch, Zanti, and I will attend along with the supervising leader of the four regions of Noyuh."
Ahldrin tilted his head up in agreement. He could investigate more because until now, the other member of the High Corps responsible for the investigation was not yet around.
Ahldrin paused when suddenly a black smoke appeared, and a male fae wearing a black hooded robe stood. A long sword was resting on his back.
Speaking of the devil.
"Zanti, where the hell have you been?" Nahil exclaimed.
Zanti bowed at Aserah and turned his attention to Nahil, "Why Nana? Did you miss me?"
"In your dreams!" Nahil rolled her eyes.
Ahldrin looked displeased as his forehead furrowed. Their blabbering was usual for him. They had been doing that for three hundred years already since Zanti pledged his loyalty to Noyuh as their deathly assassin and spy.
Zanti immediately returned to his usual serious face, "I gathered all the information we need."
The room fell silent as Zanti reported all the things he learned on his surveillance.
OUTSIDE the Golden Palace, Winzi's forehead creased even more when she examined the human beside her. She wanted to complain why she had to be tasked attending to this lowly creature. Her activity was full enough, but she still needed to give this mortal her company.
But no matter how she expressed her disappointment, it was Aserah who gave her this useless responsibility. She could not disagree with the Lady of Noyuh.
"Hey! Could you hurry?" she said with unconcealed irritation.
The mortal still stuck below her current location, and he seemed troubled to hasten his paces going up. She already sensed Ahldrin and Nahil's presence inside the palace.
Winzi paused midway as she heard the man cussed, "Have you forgotten that I'm just a mere human?"
She deeply breathed out while waiting for him to catch up. They should be inside the palace by now, but because this human was slow, he caused more delays.
"You're wasting my time. Hurry!" Her eyes broadened to scare him.
"I don't understand. Why can't we vanish as we did earlier in the mountain? I won't complain even If I'm dizzy." He exhaled in desperation, "Look, I'm trying to catch up, but this stairway is insane!"
She rolled her eyes, "We can't use the Vanire here because Aserah forbids it to protect the palace from intruders."
"Vanire?" The line in his forehead deepened.
"Vanire means transportation magic." She squinted and murmured, "Stupid!"
"Oh, teleportation, and what is Swasah? I heard it many times."
"That's equivalent to hello. It's a faerie greeting. Now you know, dumbass!"
Winzi saw the mortal clenched his fist and silently gritted his teeth.
"You're a foul-mouthed witch! I wonder if this place taught you that, at least, humans are well-mannered."
She scowled to threaten him more. This mortal was annoying as hell.
"I am not a witch! I am part of Aserah's inner corps. And don't you dare to talk back. I will pluck your eye socket." She raised her hands to make him understand how serious she was. Which, of course, she would not do. They gave an order to bring this guy in one piece.
The mortal remained silent this time. His jaw hardened. He clenched and unclenched his fists again, quietly groaned several times, maybe to control his emotions.
Winzi calmly checked the mortal. She could see that he was not tired of going up the stairs. Later she would go to Aserah to find somebody to babysit this human. Her patience was not that long. And that was the only thing that made her imperfect.
There was a long silence as they continue climbing until they finally reached the main door.
What she told him earlier was not a lie. The Golden Palace was heavily warded with ancient spells. Since the war broke between Erganiv and Muhler, not even a single faerie had tried to intrude inside. But it was untrue that they could not use the Vanire inside the palace. Aserah and her High Corps could make it anytime. They were the selected few since they act as the high-ranking officials of Noyuh.
Winzi intended not to use the Vanire just to scare this poor human. Besides, it was risky for the likes of him. The warding spells around the palace might affect his fragile body.
"Why is the palace empty? There should be guards everywhere." The mortal looked curious. He inspected the surroundings.
"That's what you think." She wanted to burst into laughter, peering at his expression. She could smell the intense fear from him even without trying to spy on his thoughts. His face alone showed it all.
The mortal said nothing and silently followed her. They went inside the council chamber where she perceived the raw mana of her friends, together with the Lady whom she served.
NEAR the edge of the massive table, Aserah remained silent until Zanti finished his reports. She tried not to sigh in frustration because of what she just heard. It saddened her to think about the possibility of war if they couldn't find solutions to this dilemma.
They appointed her as the Lady of Noyuh after the Great Fae War. She contributed her magic to build the invisible wall barrier as protection to Erganiv. However, the wage was overwhelming; Muhlerians slaughtered her entire clan. Still, she belonged to the few surviving warriors who fought the dark empire.
But it happened a long time ago. She would never waste her immortal life thinking and sulking about the past. This time, she would do anything to protect her territory, even it costs her life.
"Rieska is back…."
These words echoed in her mind as Zanti disclosed this information. That explained everything, the escape of the Alundra and these unidentified faeries roaming around Noyuh.
Rieska. She silently swallowed. Even whispering her wicked name posed a threat because she was once the powerful Queen of Alegerio and Erganiv.
No. There was no such thing as Queen of Erganiv now. The High Leaders of the four territories were equal. The reason they remained at peace these past millennia, the Erganivians were satisfied with their leadership and grasp of power. But now that Rieska roamed around the realms again, she knew that their world would be in chaos.
She was never afraid to fight. But somehow, she was worried about the loss of lives once the war flared up. And as a Lady of Noyuh, she could not show any weakness at all. She believed she was powerful enough to save everyone around her domain.
They all paused in the middle of a discussion when Winzi, along with a mortal, arrived from the door. Winzi bowed as she saw her. While the mortal was busy investigating the room, it took a while when he finally met her gaze. The mortal blinked several times as he scanned her thoroughly.
"Give respect to the Lady. Bow down!" Winzi forced the poor mortal to arch his head.
"Please… don't kill me." The mortal pleaded. His voice stuttered. She could feel his terror.
"You can stay here until I haven't found a way to send you back," she said with assurance.
Aserah had a lot of plans for this mortal. And she would not regret the decision of welcoming him into her palace. Well, hopefully.