Eel's heart beat with excitement as he paced through the fortress, zooming past hollow halls and ignoring the greetings and bows from staff and warriors around him. "This is so exciting," he thought. In his hands, he held orders written by Destro himself, stamped and signed by the greatest regent in all of Emeral. He headed towards the training ground, the sun brightening his cheerful demeanor.
"Captain Oriòn!" he yelled out, holding the paper for Oriòn to receive. The squad, their faces sweaty from their morning workout, turned to him. Eel walked towards them, smiling gleefully as he passed Æsà.
"You are cheery for someone late," Oriòn remarked. "What do you have there, Cadet?"
Eel stopped and saluted Oriòn. "Orders from the regent, Captain," he yelled, trying hard to hide his excitement.
"Orders? What orders?" Oriòn asked, squinting as he received the rolled-up paper from Eel.
"Yes, sir, orders." Eel could see the faces of the squad wriggle with excitement. They all watched Oriòn's face intently as he read the orders from Destro.
"Well, squad, first I'd like to say congratulations to you all," Oriòn announced, holding the order up in the air. "This right here doesn't just automatically declare you as official Royal Guards, acting on the authority of the Regent. It means if we get this done right, your names will be known by the regent." Oriòn paused, observing their smiles.
"Yes!" yelled Archi, embracing Ratchet. They struck their palms together, grabbing and holding each other in excitement. "We did it, you bastard son of a kraken. We are Royal Guards."
Æsà and Eel smiled as they watched their friends celebrate. Eel walked towards her, stretching his hands out for a hug. "Do not say no, this is just a congratulatory hug," he said, approaching her. She smiled and embraced him tightly. Eel felt a warmth as they embraced, his heart racing faster. He held onto her a moment longer than necessary, savoring the closeness. "You smell so good," he whispered in her ear. Æsà withdrew, her face flustered.
Oriòn cleared his throat, and they all stood still, paying attention. "I'm glad you are all so excited," he said, staring at Eel and Æsà. "But being Royal Guards is no joke. You could die out there. We go to places where normal people do not exist and fight against purely evil things."
The air stood still as Oriòn spoke. Eel felt the rush of excitement crashing down. He had never really known what would happen after he graduated, but now, with this uniform on, maybe he could earn the respect of his father.
"What is the mission, Captain?" Æsà asked.
"Yes, Captain, what is the mission?" Eel echoed. He hadn't read what the mission was; he was just too excited and focused on the moment to see the words inked onto the paper by his father.
Oriòn took a deep breath, looking at the paper once more. Eel watched his face scan the order. He wondered what his father wanted him to achieve with this mission.
Oriòn took a deep breath. "We are being deployed to the borderlands to investigate the strange death of a child. It doesn't say anything else, though. Only that we should treat it as very important. The child was a sorcerer."
"Sorcerer? I thought those were extinct?" Archi asked.
"Rare, not extinct. Sorcerers and magic still exist, and one of our jobs as Royal Guards is to?" Oriòn paused, waiting for someone to respond.
"To ensure the conservation of sorcery and magic, and to prevent the illegal use and creation of magical weapons and artifacts," Æsà replied.
"Good, good. I'm glad you listened," Oriòn said, walking away as he stared at the sky in thought. "We will leave for the village immediately," he commanded. "Archi, you and Ratchet prepare the horses and carriage. Take enough supplies to last us three days. No matter what we find, I'd like you all here for your ceremonial induction as guards. Not many have the honor of having their cowries placed on them by the king himself."
"Yes, sir," they responded, saluting before making their way out of the training grounds.
Eel could hear them giggling as they walked out. "What about us, Captain? What should we do?"
"You guys come with me to the armory. We need some items if this turns out to be some magical fiasco, and I don't like to be unprepared," Oriòn responded, walking past them toward the entrance.
Eel and Æsà followed closely behind Oriòn, smiling as they tried to contain their excitement.
"I can hear you two fools giggling behind me. Take this seriously," Oriòn said as they walked by the wooden walls of the building. Heading for the courtyard, they passed the garden and entered the Royal armory. Oriòn showed the guards by the giant metal doors the order.
Eel and Æsà followed Oriòn into the dark room. Eel grasped Æsà's hand as they walked behind Oriòn in the dark. They gripped each other tightly, feeling the warmth of each other's palms as they slowly began to sweat. Oriòn stopped by another door, took a torch from the edge, and scratched it against the sharp walls around. Æsà let go as the room was illuminated by the bloody glow of the burning torch. Oriòn placed his hand on the leopard head in the middle of the door and twisted the combination to unlock it.
Eel heard the metal grip and turn until a loud clamp was heard. The door shifted open as they walked into the room beyond it. Eel marveled at the armory. They had never been allowed in here as cadets, so he always wondered what they kept that required so much security. The armory was huge, its walls stretched high with swords, spears, and knives neatly stacked across it. "Wow," he said aloud, his voice echoing through the hollow room. "So many weapons," he said to Æsà.
"I know, right," she replied, holding a pair of daggers that glowed gently in the darkness.
"Good eye," Oriòn said to her. "Those are blood daggers, perfect for your speed and technique. They were forged with the teeth of a basilisk, so a little cut could be fatal if you don't have an antidote handy," he continued, walking deeper into the armory.
Eel looked around as they walked. The weapons on the wall got stranger as they went deeper: swords with bizarre bends, spears with an eerie presence, and duo knives connected by what seemed to be molten chains. "Where did we get all these?" he asked as Oriòn stopped by a crest at the edge of the wall.
Oriòn handed Æsà the torch as he brought out a wooden chest. "Here we go," he said, blowing the dust off its cover. "Most of them are from the last war. Some were confiscated from smugglers and criminals over the years. But this," he said, shaking the box in his hand, "this was created by your mum."
"What? Really? What is it?" Eel asked, curiosity piqued.
"I'll tell you more on our way," Oriòn replied as they turned and left the armory.
Eel wondered what could be in the chest. He hated how little he knew about his mother and wondered what kind of woman she was to have been so important to the kingdom and their efforts.
They reached the door and exited the armory, walking into the courtyard and towards the stables. Ratchet and Archi were already there, waiting. "I'll be right back, meet me by the gates," Eel said, turning back and running to the edge of the fortress where his room's window was located above. "Nymèŕa!" he yelled. The leopard jumped out of the window, ran down the wall, and leaped over to Eel's side, purring as Eel petted his head. They walked towards the gates where the squad was waiting for Eel.
"You're bringing the leopard?" Ratchet asked, his voice tinged with fear.
"Yeah, we wouldn't want him to get lonely and eat someone out of boredom," Eel responded, watching as Nymèŕa walked towards Æsà. She rubbed his head, kneeling to butt heads with him as he yawned.
Ratchet's eyes lit up with fear at the sight of Nymèŕa's dagger-like teeth. He swallowed hard. "Sometimes I think that thing is going to eat me," he said to Archi as he climbed onto the carriage to drive.
"Well, not you," Eel said, rubbing Nymèŕa's head. "But maybe your horse." He laughed as he got into the back of the carriage with Nymèŕa and Æsà. Oriòn hopped in too, and Archi sat by Ratchet in the front as they began their journey to the Borderlands.