Alister and Gabriel stood in front of the dead Corrupted, their backs to the naked girls, their face's blazed with blush. They didn't know how to get out of this situation, let alone explain themself. Alister spoke out without turning around:
"Ladies, we're sorry for intruding on you in such a time of vulnerability. Please allow us to explain ourselves, we mean you no harm."
The two naked girls looked at eachother skeptically, then they spoke as well:
"Ok then, go on and explain yourselves."
"Please get decent first."
Alister asked.
"Please, by the grace of the gods."
Gabriel added.
The two ladies looked at eachother once more, then started to get dressed. Alister and Gabriel didn't move, not an inch. They were blushing like some innocent school boys as they heard the sound of fabric gliding over skin.
The early morning sun casts a warm, golden hue across the azure landscape, the light shimmering on the clear creek beside the two girls. The water ripples softly with the breeze, creating an ethereal backdrop as the girls, standing on the grassy bank, drape fabric over their bodies.
One girl, with cascading auburn hair, gracefully unravels a long piece of blue silk, the fabric catching the light as it unfurls like a stream of water. She lifts her arms, letting the material glide smoothly over her shoulders and down her back. The silk clings to her form as if it were part of her, accentuating the natural curves of her body.
Beside her, the other girl, with chestnut-colored hair tied in a loose braid, is delicately wrapping a sheer, gossamer cloth around herself. The fabric, a pale shade of lavender, the same color as Alister's eyes, flutters in the wind before settling around her waist and chest. She moves with careful precision, her fingers deftly tucking and folding the cloth to create layers that flow and shift with her every movement.
The scene is tranquil, almost dreamlike, with the soft rustling of the fabric and the gentle lapping of the lake's water blending into a soothing melody. The girls, now fully enveloped in their chosen fabrics, stand together at the water's edge, their silhouettes reflected in the glassy surface of the lake, the sky above them painted in hues of pink and orange as the day slowly gives way to evening.
After they got dressed, Alister and Gabriel turned around and stared at the girls, the one with auburn hair spoke:
"My name is Piper and this is Mary. Now that we are decent, please state your business."
"My name is Alister and this is Gabriel, we mean you no harm. We were going through the forest hunt Corrupted, it was an accident that we came upon you two showering."
The ladies seem to agree very quickly, in retrospect Alister and Gabriel weren't the one in the wrong here. They were the ones showering in the middle of the Azure Forest, in a Corrupted Realm.
Alister spoke once more:
"I'm sorry to cut this conversation short my ladies, but this place isn't safe. Our shelter is south of here, if you follow me we can talk there."
The ladies processed the information given to them, then smiled. Mary; the one with the braid and chestnut-colored hair spoke:
"Lead the way, handsome."
Alister put on a dumbstruck face. He blushed again but spun around before anyone could see. Then he started his march back to the shelter.
It was a painfully long walk, it was filled with the two ladies constantly flirting with Alister. The ladies just never let up, they probed Alister for every little bit of detail about him. They got real touchy with him and Alister kept blushing like a school boy. It was so bad he had to use Gabriel's giant body to block the girls just to get a couple feet of breathing room.
This continued for the entirety of the hour-long walk to get back to the shelter.
They did arrive at the downed tree after a while of walking, Olivia and the other girls were there cooking some Corrupted meat. Once the girls heard the approaching group walking, they turned around at looked at the two boy with a curious glance,
Oliva spoke:
"Alister, who are these two girls and why are they swooning all over you?"
"We found them at a creek, they were…attacked by a Corrupted, but we saved them and brought them back here, for shelter. They might have some information for us as well."
Piper and Mary, after hearing what Alister said, walked over to some open seats and sat down.
Oliva spoke once more:
"Well go on then, speak. Tell us what you know."
The ladies giggled and patted the space between them to sit, they gestured for Alister to sit with them. Clearly not planning to speak until he did. Alister walked over to them reluctantly and sat in between them, they grabbed onto his arms and held them to their chests.
Alister grinded his teeth in annoyment and innocence. But thankfully, by the gods they spoke:
"So there are four directions as you know. In the north there is a Queen of the North named: Lilith Eidolon, The Life Nexus. In the east there is a Queen of the East named: Eve Bloodwolf, The Elemental Master. In the west there is a King of the West named: Perseus Dragonis, The Dragon Tamer. The south is unclaimed, but these are the three known as the rulers."
Alister's eyebrows rose as he heard those names: Eidolon, Bloodwolf and Dragonis. These were the names of legacy clans. Clan Eidolon was a clan of absorbers in a sense. Clan Bloodwolf was a clan of elemental controlists. Finally clan Dragonis were a clan of tamers, although it was hard to believe they could temporarily or permanently tame Corrupted.
Then Mary popped her head up and spoke in cheerful and seductive voice:
"Hey, you should be the King in the South. If I saw right, it was you who littered the ground back there with Corrupted corpses, no? You'd be a perfect fit, you're as strong as them and you're the Alister Aetherbound."
Alister's eyes widened as they said his full name, which he didn't tell them. The ladies giggled at his sudden eyes widening, then they both brought their mouths close to his ear and spoke one after the other:
"Yes yes, we know who you are handsome."
"Alister Aetherbound, youngest son of the Aetherbound legacy clan."
"Say, when you become King can we become your Queens. You can have both of us."
"Every. Single. Inch. Of. Our. Bodys"
"Please."
Olivia broke the onset of flirtation compliments.
"Enough! Keep telling us about the rulers."
Piper and Mary scoffed at her, then started speaking again. But they spoke as if they were talking to Alister only and the others were just eavesdropping.
"The first one, Lilith Eidolon, The Life Nexus. She has the ability to absorb the life energy from living creatures be it Corrupted or humans. She can imbue the life energy into weapons to make them sturdier or sharper. She can also imbue it into herself to heal her wounds. She can induce things as she sees fit, such as making a golem or spirit with life energy."
How extremely scary, to be able to control the energy of life so easily makes her a terrible threat. No to mention golem and spirit creation, the Eidolon clan has got a worthy heir.
Alister thought internally.
"Next up is Eve Bloodwolf, The Elemental Master. It's pretty obvious as to what her aspect is, elemental control. She has the ability to control all natural elements, for now at least. As well as combining elements, an example would be: combining water and fire to make steam. Also she has elemental resistance, she is completely immune to the elements she casts and resistance against every element used against her."
Alister thought to himself once more:
Clan Bloodwolf also has themselves a worthy heir as well. But this also means that my [Iceflame Sword] won't do jackshit against her. Just when I thought the mountain in front of me was going to be a pain in the ass to climb, there's another behind it.
"Finally, the last one is Perseus Dragonis, The Dragon Tamer. He has the ability to tame Dragons, albeit low rank ones but a Dragons a Dragon. If that wasn't incredible enough, he can converse with them telepathically and share sensory experience. He can also heighten his five senses, it is limited but still powerful."
Dragons, fucking dragons. Why not at this point, I did read in one of the books that discussed the creatures that inhabited the Corrupted Realm and it wasn't limited to just Corrupted. Corrupted, Dragons and Spirits all inhabited the Corrupted Realm. There was one who can tame Dragons and another who can make Spirits. What a bunch of fuckers.
Alister sweared mentally.
"That's not even the best part either, they are all meeting in a week at a place north of here called Hell's Fissure, a dastardly place filled with rotting corpses. They plan on meeting and fighting there, whoever wins will become subservient or more likely, they'd become generals to whoever wins and that'll make the winner the commander."
Mary explained.
Alister thought to himself finally:
The Rulers, I don't know if I want to meet them or not. But if I do meet them and win, that would meet mother's requirements: "I want you to succeed with results better than anyone else, regardless of the method."
Alister spoke:
"I guess we'll pay them a visit in a week."