Soaring at the magical Nusterran sky is the airboat. Although most people call it as such, these airboats have another name, one that is followed after their creator, Aerodin. There are fifteen Aerodins in all of Nusterra, with more still in the process of creation. Each numbered from one to fifteen. These airboats have their route to travel the entire continent.
Crafted from the lightest of both wood and metal and adorned with intricate patterns. The Aerodins are powered with air magic and the integration of components created and designed solely to travel the vast sea sky.
These airboats, like the ones traveling at sea, have streamlined hulls and a sail. But, attached at its rear is a large fan-like propulsion system. At the heart of every Aerodins is their engine. A great piece of engineering created by the one and only Icarus Aerodin. The engine allows the continuous flow of air by using mana. Air will flow out of numerous holes in the hull, enough to lift the huge vehicle off the ground. The intensity of its flow could be controlled through a panel, or by someone that could use air magic.
In every scheduled flight, a team of air magic users are boarded as part of the crew of the Aerodins. It is a safety measure in case there is any malfunction in the boat's parts or any unexpected event happens.
Aeneas and the group waited in the waiting area next to the ticketing booth. It didn't take long for them to hear the whistling sound that came from the landing Aerodin and hear the announcement of the airboat's arrival. Based on the schedule, it must be the one Lyra has boarded in. From the central nation Decatris, her ride would go to the port in the kingdom of Akrisia before heading to the port in Katalos city.
From the exit came a stream of people who alight the boat. Among them was a woman with red straight hair falling past her shoulders. Her eyes were as if it was made of amber. She is someone at the young age of forty-two. It was Lyra Caspius.
Because of the existence of mana and peace, people in all of Nusterra have an average lifespan of eighty. The signs of aging start at the age of fifty.
As soon as Aeneas saw Lyra, he rushed towards her. With a tight hug and a big smile, "I missed you, mother," Aeneas said.
Lyra hugged him tighter. He was much taller than she remembered, so Lyra commented on how Aeneas had grown in the six months of them not seeing each other.
Arsen and the others also approached Lyra who saw them and showed a bright smile.
"Your dress looks great, mother," Arsen said. His mother wore a light blue dress that was tight-fitted to her slender body. It has intricate patterns made of golden silk. Arsen knew that it was a new kind of clothing that could adjust its size to the wearer. And, he also knows that it costs a good amount of coins.
"Thank you, my dear son," Lyra said as she turned to Arsen and hugged him. He was towering over her.
"I've bought some for the ladies in the house," Lyra said. To which Arsen replied with a nervous chuckle. In his mind, he started to try and guess how much money his mother had used during her stay in the nation of Decatris. Although Adrian left them a great fortune on his death, it wasn't infinite. And with the way his mother burns their savings like paper, they'd be out before they know it.
The Caspius family was once one of the richest people in the continent. That was when Adrian was still alive and was the head merchant of the merchant group or company he started, the Caspian Trade. After the demise of Adrian six years ago, the council of merchants who were just below him in status asked for a successor from Adrian's legitimate children.
Arsen was a knight and didn't know the trade. He was also uninterested in the business. Aeneas, although smart, was too young at the time and some of the merchants didn't want to wait. On the other hand, Lois, the second born of the Caspius, was a great candidate. Although she was of the age of eleven, she was more mature and smarter than some of the merchants.
But, some of them didn't like the idea of following a little girl. Some left and made various plans to lower the value of the group so they could buy the group for themselves. Seeing her father's hard work slowly crumble was immense pressure for the little girl. Because of that, Lyra decided to sell his husband's share to the highest bidder.
Lyra turned to Eluard, she looked at him with a smile.
"My lady," Eluard said accompanied with a Panteran bow.
"Oh, come here," Lyra replied. She hugged him, "How many times do I have to say that you're also my son," she continued.
Her words were music to Eluard's ear, "I'm glad you were safe, mother," Eluard said.
Then, Lyra greeted Donos and thanked him for looking after the manor in her absence.
"I barely helped Lord Arsen, my lady," Donos replied with a chuckle.
There are two unknown people to Lyra. Both Konon and Tiriara were watching their reunion from a distance. Lyra noticed them standing there, waiting.
"Were you with them?" Lyra asked.
Arsen nodded in reply.
"Why did they remain standing there?"
"There's this thing called courtesy, mother," Arsen joked.
Lyra pat her oldest son's face, "Oh my son, your jokes have become dull," she said.
"That girl is Tiriara Chronis," Aeneas said.
"Oh," Lyra turned to Arsen. She remembered that Arsen had written about the Chronis moving to Heos in the letter he sent her weeks ago. The letter also contained the fact that Aeneas's illness has acted up again.
"Is that lord Nireus, then? He didn't look as handsome as the rumors made him to be," Lyra said.
Her words made everyone around her chuckle.
"That's sir Konon, a commander among the knights. He was here to accompany the young lady as she wanted to come," Arsen said.
Nodding, "I see," Lyra muttered.
She then walked to them to offer some greetings. Konon greeted her with the Panteran bow and she reciprocated it. Tiriara did the same.
"You must be young lady Tiriara, my Aenie's friend."
Tiriara responded with a nervous nod. But, the woman moved closer to her and hugged the girl, "You're so cute," she said. "Please continue to be my baby's good friend."
"Please stop calling me that, mother."
Still nervous, Tiriara didn't even laugh as she heard Lyra call Aeneas a baby. Rather, she replied with a, "Y—yes, my lady."
Lyra said that Tiriara didn't need to call her lady. Instead, she asks her to call her aunt, or better yet, mother, as she stares at Aeneas with a smirk.
"Then, you can call me Tiri, Aunt Lyra."
Lyra chuckled, "Okay, Tiri," she said.
"By the way, where's your baggage, mother?" Arsen asked.
Lady Caspius said that some of the staff in the port would inspect the baggage before they could bring it with them. And as she said, it didn't take long for some of the staff to drag Lyra's huge suitcases. She asked them to open it to make sure that nothing was missing.
Arsen was quite disappointed. He glimpsed at five huge suitcases filled with a wide variety of things that he couldn't think of any importance.
"You bought a lot, mother," Arsen said.
Lyra smiled at him, "Dear son, you know I held back. And most of it is for my research," she replied.
Arsen couldn't utter another word and just let out a laugh that sounded a bit sad.
Since it was past noon Lyra said for them to eat at one of the restaurants before going home. Everyone agreed. Arsen, Donos, Konon, Eluard, and Aeneas carry a single suitcase each. Lyra held hands with Tiriara who seemed to be enjoying themselves, looking at shops from clothing stores, to ones selling food or random things. They decided to eat at a restaurant serving poultry dishes.
After an hour of filling their empty stomachs, and wandering around the busy streets of Katalos the group returned to the stables. Lyra boarded the carriage with one of her luggage, the spacious compartment lost to the amount of her things. She offered Tiriara to come with her inside the carriage, but the girl politely refused and rushed towards Aeneas and Orion.
From time to time, Lyra would peek out the small window to look at Aeneas and Tiriara behind her. When Aeneas looks at her, she smirks at him and moves her eyebrows up and down.
Lyra would see her son's face turning a bit red and would look away from her. A reaction that made the woman giggle on her own. When Tiriara saw her, she would smile and wave her hands, to which Lyra would do the same.
Aside from the increased time they had to wait at each gate since Lyra's things were added to each inspection, their journey home was rather smooth and uneventful.
And at six of the same day, Aeneas and the group returned home to the Caspius manor.