Pink Pheonix Duchy, the Regal Estate.
The atmosphere was tense in the estate, but one wouldn't see it while looking at the environment. The Regal Estate truly lived up to its name, there was no other noble who had taken such meticulous care of their property, but its most beautiful part was the mansion that stood in the middle. The first thing one would notice upon reaching the mansion was the array of colorful flowers that were arranged in patterns around it, then the big house which was painted in a beautiful coral color. Even the sky seemed clearer there, making the perfect backdrop of the house.
There were servants scurrying all around the mansion, some going to complete their assigned work while the others waited to be called upon. On the surface the mansion seemed to be a picture of harmony, but only those in the manor felt the tension.
The servants moved as quietly and as carefully as they could, the gardeners made themselves busy with the numerous flowers that surrounded the mansion, the cooks gave their all in making delicious meals that were cooked to perfection, and the guards were self-conscious as they eyed the Sword Knights that had stationed themselves around the estate.
All the workers were stressed and tense, and no one could blame them, because the king was around. Although the estate was his he didn't really visit there, only the queen visited there often.
After the destruction of the castle Roman had immediately brought his family to the estate to stay temporarily, although his son's had decided to stay in their schools, the rest of the royal family was there.
While his family rested, Roman immediately called for a mandatory meeting between him and every high ranking noble in the kingdom. He didn't wait for a day before calling them, and everyone rushed to him because his anger and irritation was renowned.
The meeting took place in the dull named Meeting Room, Roman had allowed everyone to eat before they began but they barely had any appetite. After the servants had taken away the partially eaten food, the meeting commenced.
Firstly, Roman motioned for a man standing next to him to read out the damage reports. The man, Reynard White, who was the King's Hand nodded and walked forward, he unrolled a scroll and read off of it in a clear voice. Everyone sat solemnly as he read out the number of casualties the kingdom had accumulated. Over 1,000 people deaths had been accounted for and over 30 settlements had been destroyed. A few people took small peaks at Roman; his face was so stoic it looked ceramic.
When Reynard finished talking a pensive silence filled the room, no one knew what to say, and even if they did, they would still wait for the king to speak first. The king sat still for a few moments before leaning forward and glanced at everyone in the room.
"I have spent some time reading the damage reports, and have done a few investigations myself. From the reports, it showed that the White Tiger Duchy Suffered most from the undead attacks, while the Black Stallion Duchy suffered least, and the rest of you were able to protect your duchies fairly well with minimal casualties. This obviously showed that most of you had been warned about the undead, or else you wouldn't have been able to set up a proper defense system in time."
Roman stared at every Duke and Dutchess in the room with inquisitive eyes, "I'd like everyone here to tell me how you got that information."
Dutchess Cornelia was the first to speak, "Your majesty," she curtsied, "unfortunately we don't have a satisfactory answer to give you. The people who spread the news about the undead attacks are elusive, they used rumors to spread gossip about the undead and didn't stay in a place long enough to be found."
"Yes, your majesty," the duke of Black Stallion Duchy, Roy, spoke, "I heard gossip about the undead from my servants and the miners so I quickly ordered everyone close enough to migrate to the main city, so I could protect them until the undead threat had passed." His voice sounded deeper and he looked a little smug, obviously proud that he had been able to protect his duchy more than the rest.
The other dukes sneered inwardly at him, the fact that a coward like him was so excessively complacent made their blood boil. But they were mainly jealous that they didn't think of the same thing, although they would never admit that out loud.
"So, you decided to use The Stallion's Protection, one of the protective measures you were supposed to only use against an extinction level threat, instead of trying to fight," Roman didn't hide his sneer as he looked at duke Roy, "What if we are suddenly attacked by invaders, what would you do then?"
The other dukes watched Roy's smile drop with slight smiles, but quickly hid it when the Roman glanced their way.
"And you," Roman said to Ian Makarov, the White Tiger Duchy's duke, who looked like he was expecting the king to call him out next, "Your domain is a mess, over 500 died in the White Tiger Duchy alone!"
Roman sighed and leaned back on his chair, Xavier Thorpe who was standing at the edge of the room opened his mouth to speak, "Your majesty, please don't stress yourself and them. I'd say we all did our best considering the suddenness of the attack, the dukes and duchess were still able to protect the duchies, unlike the Backview Towns residents who were completely eradicated."
"I agree with Dean Xavier, your majesty." Alexandra Lovegood pitched in, "The damage report is embarrassing for everybody, but it is also unjust. If it was an upfront war everyone would have been able to implement efficient defenses and battle formations, but the sneak attack of the undead did not give us the chance."
Although he was a bit irked that someone from the Sword Land was giving him advice, Roman couldn't help but admit she was right. The next course of action was to regain order in his kingdom. He sat straight in his chair and spoke in a deep, loud voice, "Although we were able to beat back the undead, not all of them have been destroyed, and some of the people who created them are still alive. So, I want Sword Land to dispatch some of their Swordspeople to find and rid these abominations from our land. They will be backed up by the sorcerers of the Emerald Crow Society."
Alexandra and Xavier both bowed, "Yes, your majesty."
"As for the rest of you," He turned to the dukes and the duchess, "killing the undead you find is a must, but I want you to mostly focus on getting rid of bandits that will most definitely form in your areas."
"Yes, your majesty!" They all bowed.
After the meeting ended, only Xavier and Roman remained in the room. Roman looked tired as he rubbed his forehead with his fingers, the rollercoaster of emotions he had gotten in the past few days still disturbed his mental health. Xavier walked up to him and handed him a glass of cold water; he was the only one Roman would allow to see him so drained.
"What do you think he's doing now?" Roman asked as he grabbed the glass of water.
"Probably formulating a new plan to usurp you, your majesty." Xavier replied.
Roman gripped the armrest with his free hand and sighed heavily, his brother had become a ghost that would constantly cause him problems.
"Seeing how stressed you are I feel obliged to share some good news with you."
Without Xavier mentioning it, Roman already knew what he was going to talk about. His head whipped up and he stared at Xavier with excitement, "You've finally made one? Really?"
"Yes, your majesty." Xavier smiled slightly. "We have finally perfected one, so I will be easier to make more."
"Good!" Roman said before sneering, "With this, the emperor would definitely notice us."
…
Forsaken Lands, Unnamed City.
Ronan took in the view around him as he walked slowly towards his destination, he was checking everything around him like a tourist would even though he had already been living in the city for a while. But that was a given, he had never taken the time to really look at the city. When he first arrived at the city, he had to fight the Wraiths that contaminated it, then after he picked a house, he was told that he might die if he doesn't get stronger. After that he had had to find ways to increase his strength, then he was sent to inform the people of the Dragonstone Kingdom about the existence of the undead.
Now, even though he had somewhere to be, he decided to examine the city as he walked. He knew the city was way different from anyone he had seen before, and although he had seen most of it he had never stopped to admire it.
The smooth and wide, brick roads were clean as ever, since any person living in an area would tidy up their place. The street lights stretched overhead, Ronan didn't know how they absorbed sunlight but some Air Mages had hovered to the top of the night lights and saw runes on top of them. The Rune Mages weren't able to identify the runes, but they thought they probably would in the future.
The people also try to water the flowers that decorated the sides of their houses when they remember, which wasn't very often. But the flowers were unlike any he had ever seen and were quite resilient, but that was to expected since they had been created by a god.
'Speaking of creation…' Ronan glanced back to the giant palace and looked up, he could see a pale blue light shining at the zenith of the palace. Anytime he remembered the [Blessed Gem] his reverence for the God of Origin grew, he wasn't sure if it was real or if it was just his delusions but he always felt like he could feel their god's gaze upon them.
Ronan felt something hit him, he had to quickly steady himself or he would have fallen on the child that had rammed himself into his legs. It seemed that they both weren't paying attention to their surroundings, after giving a giggling apology to Ronan the boy continued running from the others that were chasing him. Ronan scoffed lightheartedly and continued on his way, although he wasn't used to seeing children – especially in the Overlord's City where there were only about fifteen of them – he still found them endearing.
Ronan decided to focus on his surroundings better and walked faster, although the city was a maze, he still committed the road to Antonia's house to memory. When he finally reached there, he first stood under the shade the house cast and enjoyed the liberation from the heat, then he knocked on the door. A few moments later Antonia opened the door, and he was invited in.
Antonia looked much better than she did when she first came to the Forsaken Lands, but seeing her entire town get destroyed and escaping certain death had made her slightly agoraphobic. Apart from Ronan, and Duma who visited sometimes, she didn't really let people into her life or her home. Ronan had been trying to help her socialize, but he couldn't force her if she didn't want to.
Antonia made fried fish for both of them, and while they were eating her demeanor suddenly changed.
"I'm sorry, Ronan." She lowered her head, "Sorry, for not coming out to fight with everybody when the city was attacked. I didn't even try to train or get stronger after I came here. I just hid like a coward."
Ronan dropped his plate on the center table and stared at Antonia for a moment, he squinted his eyes and pursed his lips as he thought of how to articulate his words.
"And who said you have to fight?" He said. Antonia looked up at him in shock, her eyes were a bit watery. Ronan nodded before continuing, "Not everyone is a fighter, Antonia, and you weren't the only the one who didn't participate in the battle that day."
"Yeah, me and other children and elderly – "
"Stop that! The people who fought were the people who wanted to fight, if they didn't want to no one would have forced them." Ronan stopped her self-degradation. "Why do you have to fight? What's wrong with being protected?"
"But, isn't it good to help people? Imagine if I was strong before, I would have been able to protect my town." Antonia said.
Ronan could see that thoughts had been weighing on her mind for quite some time, "You are a kind person Antonia, the fact that you think like that proves it. Don't fret, you couldn't have known the town would be attacked. And, you forget, you did save people. You saved me, Duma, and Conrad. If you weren't there we would have been killed in our sleep."
Antonia let out a shuddering breath, and Ronan knew that he had said the right thing.
…
Sarah woke up from an afternoon nap, the sunlight had moved from where it had been when she dozed off and now hit her face, making her eyes water. She groaned and moved her head, she stretched her body until it relaxed but didn't get down from her bed. She strained her ears to see if she could pick up the voices of her housemates, she couldn't hear anyone but that didn't mean no one was home. They could be asleep like she had been, or just simply quiet.
After spending a few minutes tossing and turning, she decided to come out of her room. She stood up from her bed, careful not to put her entire weight on the floor – even though the floor was made of thick wood and wouldn't creak – and tiptoed out of her room. She couldn't hear anything from the doors she passed by, there were no clanks of plates and pans that normally sounded if George was around at this time of the day. She was just feeling sure that she was the only one at home when she stumbled upon Veronica practicing her magic in the living room.
Veronica's arms were raised slightly and circle shaped ice blocks floated above her palms, they were rotating around each other, sometimes slow, sometimes fast. The one of the ices melted in the ice blocks melted in the middle, forming a circle. Then the circle expanded slowly until it became an ice bangle. Veronica did this with the other ice blocks then wore them on her left arm.
She admired the bangles on her arm before she noticed Sarah. "Hey." She said. Sarah nodded back.
What followed was an awkward silence. Sarah swayed on her feet while Veronica shook her bangles. Since the day they talked, their relationship had become a bit dull. Henry too. They had become a house divided, they still greeted each other good morning and good night, and they didn't go great lengths to avoid each other, but neither one of them took the initiative to mend the cracks in their relationship. Henry still stubbornly thought what he had done was right seeing as he never attempted to apologize, Veronica's mind was occupied with her upcoming trip to the Elven Forest, George rarely stayed in the house, David rarely leaves his room, and Mary still disappears often.
And Sarah was left to think. She had been thinking about a lot lately.
"Oh, shit." She heard Veronica say. Her bangles had been melting and small drops of water had dropped on a book beside her that Sarah hadn't noticed. After evaporating the ice with a wave of her hand, she kept the book on the center table for it to dry.
Sarah looked at the book in confusion, she couldn't figure out whom it might have come from. She walked forward to get a good look at the book, it had a reddish-brown color and its title was written in a complex, foreign language.
"What language is that?" Sarah asked.
"It's Elvish. They are Glyphs, Elven language." She spoke the words on the book out before repeating them in the Common Tongue, "The Life Cycle of Elven Plants, that's what it's called. Henry gave it to me; I don't know where he found it."
"Oh."
Sarah's chest felt a bit stuffed at the thought of Veronica and Henry talking. 'What, did they bond on their mutual willfulness to commit murder?' It wasn't anger or jealousy she felt, she felt morally superior to the two. She didn't like the feeling so she decided to switch the topic.
"Why were you making bangles?"
Veronica chuckled slightly, "Well, after fighting that monster that day I decided to focus on magic control. When I think about it, I have mainly just been throwing strong magic around, there are sometimes when I use an overkill move just to catch a rabbit. And I have mostly been using the spell superficially, when they can do much more. The next way for me to get stronger is magic control, before I go to the Elven Forest, I must be at least adequate in it. Elf Magic is complex, and Fae Magic is tricky, and I wouldn't always be able to win by just unloading strong magic on my opponents."
Sarah nodded her head slowly, "That makes sense. We all should try this."
"Hmm." Veronica stared at her, "so you're still coming along?"
Sarah didn't back down, "Yes." She had decided after much thinking, if she wanted to prove them wrong then she would have to be with them in a dangerous environment, "I'm going."