• Nation: Outskirts of Elgard
• City: Anur
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Our story starts in a small, cozy house in the western reaches of the city.
"P-Prince Gree--" a young boy uttered prior to standing upright to show his respect to the Prince who had graced them; this including his sister, with his presence.
"Keep your voice down. I don't want Verna coming over.." Greerheart; the Dragon Prince of War had spoken. Verna, was his very stern assistant it was best he avoided her if he wanted any chance of relaxing for the day.
This was the man associated with the Black Trinity, a nefarious organisation that seeks to rebirth the world. He was resplendent in his attire for their bi-monthly meetings at the Belmund Mountains of the Endlave continent, dressing more like royalty than ever before. It was a sight to behold and a testament to his commitment to the cause.
His subordinates praised him as a beautiful man. He was dressed in a striking ensemble, wearing an open-collared, sleeveless, red trimmed, dark blue waistcoat that revealed his impressive abdominal muscles. He also had a dark blue cloth around his waist that reached his knees, held in place by a wide golden belt with intricate designs, red knee-length trousers with white ribbon ties, a golden draconic gauntlet on his right hand, and black open-toed sandals.
"I-I'm sorry!" the boy named Fern apologized.
"Um... So, what can we, uh, do for you this morning?" the girl, Natia asked politely. "It's unusual for you to visit us so casually... my lord."
"Did something bad happen!?" Fern already assumed the worst. Why else would the leader of their thriving city have come here if not that.
Placing his hands on his waist and wearing a confident expression, he said, "I decided to lend a helping hand today," to which Fern asked what he meant by that.
"I am pleased to offer my assistance with your assignments today. Exult, Fern and Natia Cromwell." he spoke with such poise that it was clear he was in charge.
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It was delightful to know that the city of Anur had found a way to acquire clean water in such a desert-like land.
It was admirable that they had searched for Aquos Magistones in the far ends of the Black Wyvern Mountains. These magistones were incredibly useful, as they were capable of producing water in large scale via magicubes.
However, it was important to note that they are easily exhausted, so it is wise to collect them in clusters.
Fern and Natia rode on horses that pulled a carriage, in which Greerheart was comfortably seated, admiring the beautiful clouds above the Black Wyvern Mountains.
"It's interesting to note that these mountains were formed during the battle between Mercurius Pendragon and the Demon Lord Vermugand," he remarked.
"Then again, history can be so inconsistent at times." Fern and Natia smiled at him in agreement.
Excited to acquire the Aquos Magistones, they decided to quicken their pace. However, they also wanted to savor the time they had with Greerheart, so they allowed themselves to take a few moments to enjoy the journey.
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(Benova)
They made a stop at the rural settlement known as Benova. The town was a part of Anur located north of the Central Palace.
The townsfolk were filled with admiration and awe as they gazed upon Prince Greerheart. They pondered the reason for his visit, as it was uncommon to see him outside of the palace more than once a month.
It was clear that he had come with a purpose, and they were delighted to have had him in their presence.
"I wholeheartedly agree that we should act swiftly to acquire these water elemental magistones; the people need to drink, after all."
Greerheart walked ahead of them, and Fern and Natia watched him from behind.
"O-Okay," Fern said.
"Since you both have kindly invited me to join you, I will do my best to gather the most magistones. What an exciting challenge! Splendid!" Greerheart seemed enthusiastic, though they couldn't tell because they could not see his face at the time.
Coming to a halt, the Prince gestured to one of the merchants and kindly requested, "Please, everyone, work diligently! Let us fill the city of Anur with another day of joy and energy!"
His words brought smiles to the townsfolk, who understood that this was his way of expressing his love and admiration, albeit in a subtle manner.
"Your Highness! Good morning!" two little girls no older than five paid their respects smiling brightly at him.
His arms were folded while he looked at them, "And how are you doing this fine morning...?"
"We're fine! We just want to get some bread for our mother.." one of the two girls replied. They both smiled so radiantly at him.
Delighted, he reached into his pouch and presented each of the girls with a gold piece. Money was of little consequence to him; he simply wanted to be generous.
"Get something for yourselves too."
They were grateful, "Wow! Your Highness is so amazing!" if there was anything Greerheart loved then it would have to be praise.
Still, he did not seek it single-mindedly.
"I commend you for your excellent work on this straightforward task. You must cherish your mother, little girls. In time, you will be blessed and become valuable assets to this city." the girls bowed in order to display their acknowledgement for his words.
"Apologies, I must hurry. I'm accompanying my friends here." he looked at Fern and Natia. They both waved at the little girls awkwardly.
Still, it was hard to say they weren't enjoying their time with the Prince, in truth his presence was much more entertaining than they'd expected.
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Resuming their journey they were back on the dry hard lands of their desert of a city.
"Your Highness.." Fern didn't look at him, he had his eyes on the road but he could converse in any manner as long as he was audible, "Why did you really come with us for this assignment?"
Seated resplendently in the carriage Grearheart sighed, "Sometimes I simply want to enjoy the beauty that is our city. Even rulers need a break." his eyes were closed, he wasn't looking at the two either.
"But my lord, won't your work pile up if you spend more time with us?" Natia was more concerned with his work load, it may worsen had he chosen to take this break.
He lightly smirked, "It was a simple task to leave the palace, Verna will handle my duties for the day... I must leave her to do this often, surely it would give me some time to enjoy the scenery of our mountains."
The horses stopped, Fern and Natia looked at him with faces that exuded surprise.
"Why did we come to a stop? And why do you two stare at me with such unhappy faces?" he had to know.
"I know it's none of my business, but I don't think it's fair to Lady Verna, Your Highness.." said Natia.
Greerheart heaved a sigh and held his face in his palm.
He then spoke to Natia in a firm and confident tone, "You have quite the mouth, don't you? I believe you are being intrusive in this situation."
His words were direct and clear, leaving no room for misinterpretation.
"Sorry!" she immediately expressed her most sincerest apologies.
He knew he'd gone a bit too far, and decided to change the topic, "Be it what it would, this is not laziness of any kind. Now drive on, we have magistones to acquire and this time we'll get enough to use for months." he assumed his resting position once more.
"He's totally being lazy.." Fern whispered to her, and Natia agreed by way of nodding "Hm. Hm." she uttered.
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Funny how in the end, after all that was said by the Prince, he didn't assist them in digging for the Aquos Magistones just by the sea.
They grew in clusters which helped to enrich the sea with vast amounts of magicubes, giving it its characteristic sparkling appearance.
They'd made use of their pickaxes to extract the magistones from the rocks they were embedded to.
Fern stopped moments after he felt a vibration beneath the ground, earthquakes were unusual in these parts even minor ones.
And then, the two noticed what seemed like a black meteor beelining toward them from 7 o'clock.
"What is that!?" Natia exclaimed.
It moved at a speed of 500 km/h and was about to make contact in mere seconds.
Before it could make impact, "Shield up!" Natia summoned a large sphere of energy to shield her and Fern.
As the object made impact a gust of wind violently erupted as the ground itself was depressed like it'd been hit by a rocket.
The air was thick with dust, obscuring the entire surroundings.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the dust, wearing a black overcoat with a pentagram embroidered at the back.
He had short, onyx hair and cold blue eyes, with a large scar across his forehead. Despite this, he was a handsome man, appearing to be in his early twenties.
"You all must really lack a sense of danger," he said in a cold and emotionless voice, emitting a malevolent aura.
"You'd dare cross this secluded area unescorted? How foolish." His words were spoken with a formal and confident tone, leaving no doubt as to his power.
He stood twenty meters away from them, "Demon Lord Lucretius.." Fern moved back a bit.
He was but a few meters from Natia but still within the protection range of her shield.
"You shouldn't have been able to cross our protective barrier.." note, their city had one of the strongest magical barriers.
"Humans are so hopeless... but yes, I suppose you're right." he mentioned, "But nothing is out of the realm of possibilities for a Demon Lord." he took pride in his power, albeit subtly. "...but such things are trivial."
Cold air surrounded him until finally he performed a ten-cast via creating ten sizable magic seals that surged with magicubes. This was obviously not Zestrian magic.
"He's preparing to attack!" Natia stated just before summoning her halberd; Echevria, severing blade of grandel.
A high-tier weapon with the ability to cut any magical phenomenon in two including ethereal manifestations.
Creating an inexhaustible number of ice blades, he fired every single one of them at her.
The young girl dashed for him while she spun her halberd skillfully enough that she deflected and shattered numerous ice blades beelining for her without end.
The movements of her hands were so quick and her cutting speed was relentless. Most especially, the way she swung the halberds to create gusts of wind that repelled the few she couldn't account for.
The potency of the magic seals was amplified from a ten-cast to a fifteen-cast, this resulted in an increase of the number of ice blades.
These blades moved with such speed and precision that they inflicted deep cuts on her right shoulder and left knee.
It was clear that her opponent was far superior, as one of the blades flew straight for her right thigh, thrusting with enough force to break the armor she had equipped there, while another disarmed her and left a light abrasion on her right hand.
Such a remarkable display of skill, the optimal way of fighting.
"It's not that you're weak, I'm just too powerful.."
On a knee, she panted heavily. It was clear she couldn't go any longer.
In the blink-of-an-eye a concentrated discharge of ice-formed-swords stretched for her. But before anymore damage could be done a mighty golden axe struck the ground and released a repulsive energy wave which not only pushed away the swords and disintegrated them, but also moved Lucretius a few steps back.
"How amusing... I sensed your presence about an hour ago.." Greerheart stated while he was seated on a mound of earth.
He was the one who'd thrown the axe best known as Gharindal, the King Slayer. One of his ten divine weapons.
"Dragon Prince of War... Greerheart." said the Demon Lord.