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Chapter 39: New Winds
“Brother wake up!!!!”
“OOF” The wind suddenly gets knocked out of me as my sister jumps on top of my stomach.
Rubbing my sore sternum, I gasp out, “Ellie, you’re not a little kid anymore, you’re going to seriously hurt me one day.”
“Are you calling me fat Big Brother?” Ellie pretends to gasp. This little rascal, she’s only learning useless things at that school for proper ladies or what not.
I turn to see Elijah already showered and clothed, his glasses still a bit foggy. “I swear you sleep like a log Art. Your wife is going to seriously have to use spells to wake you up when you get older.” He shakes his head.
“Shaddup.” I slur, too tired to make a witty comeback.
After quickly washing my face and fixing my hair so it’s barely presentable, the four of us, with Sylv on top of my head goes downstairs.
‘I wonder what’s for breakfast. I hope it’s meeeaaat.’ Sylv ponders, her little fox head swaying side to side in anticipation.
“Good morning you four~ you’re just in time.” My mother calls out to us from the kitchen as the maids were preparing the table. Even though there were cooks in the manor, my mother always wants to at least prepare breakfast for us, so while Tabitha was helping her, the maids help set the table and cleans up afterwards. After I came back, my family, as well as Vincent and Tabitha, both noticed the apparent change in appearance of Sylvie. I just played it off as her transformation after digesting a lot of beast cores. But from that, my parents and the Helsteas knew Sylvie wasn’t just your average mana beast, even making small conversations with her, as if she was an intelligent house pet.
“Good morning boys, and of course my little princess, did you guys sleep well?” My father, who was talking to Vincent, turns to us and gives my struggling sister bearded kiss on her cheek.
“Ew Dad, that tickles!” She pushes him away, wiping the spot she was kissed.
“Did you guys sleep well kids?” Vincent gives us a broad smile as he starts teasing my father about his doting habits towards Ellie.
“Good morning Aunt Leywin, Aunt Tabitha, Uncle Vincent and Uncle Reynolds.” Elijah announces before he sits down next to me. He stopped calling my parents Sir and Lady as he got closer to them, eventually calling everyone either Aunt or Uncle.
After saying good morning to everyone, I got back to my seat and started eating a ham and vegetable omelet with a very crisp soup.
While eating, my father suddenly speaks up with a mouth full of omelet. “That reminds me. Kids, if you don’t have any plans, do you want to go with us to City Square? There’s a big announcement in the Capital City of Etistin where the King and Queen reside but a couple of artificers are going to put up a live projection of the broadcast in City Square.”
“Honey, please don’t talk with your mouth full.” My mother gently scolds before indulging in gossip with Tabitha about the latest news of the city Ladies. It seems she’s getting along quite well with the noble ladies of Xyrus, seeing as the both of them often go out on brunch meetings and afternoon shopping trips.
“Sounds good Dad, Elijah and I don’t have anything planned today anyways, right?” I turn to my friend who’s wolfing down his second omelet. He shoots us a thumbs up and I turn to Vincent.
“I wanna go too! Can I Mom?” Ellie leans forward on the table towards my mother.
“You have school today Ellie. You can hang out with your brother after.” She nudges Ellie back down unto her chair as my sister pouts.
“Uncle Vincent. I remember you mentioned something about how you were going to visit a famous researcher that has a lab in Xyrus. Do you mind introducing me to him after we watch the announcement today?” I ask while I place a portion of omelet unto my fork with my knife.
“Ah you mean Gideon? Has he caught your interest? He’s not just a researcher but a well-known inventor and artificer as well! He’s the one responsible for designing the ships we use for the rivers as well as other well-used artifacts! I do have some business with him anyway so it wouldn’t be a problem taking you. Was there something specific you needed from him?” He quizzes, the intelligent eyes behind his glasses shining with curiosity.
“Not something I needed, but more of something to discuss. I thought he would find it valuable.” I give a vague answer, catching his interest all the more.
“Well, he’s not the type to meet new people but I’m sure I can get him to come out of his hole if I’m with you.” He nods to himself.
“Great! I look forward to meting him!” I focus back on my omelet, which Sylvie took a big bite out of, while Elijah and my father curiously wonder what I’m up to now.
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The City Square, which was usually bustling with a lot of activity, was abnormally packed with both normal civilians and nobles alike. On the side of the big clock tower, there were four orbs creating a square while underneath these floating orbs, there were two artificers with their brown robes, signifying that they do not do their work for glory and fame, chanting and fiddling with a device. Sylvie, who was looking around eagerly at the huge crowd of people, was fidgeting on top of my head. Elijah, my father and Vincent were the only ones who came, with my mother and Tabitha hanging out with their friends and Ellie at school.
*BZZZ*
“The three Kings and Queens of the different countries in our beloved Continent of Dicathen have gathered here on this memorable day!”
I see a very fancily dressed man announce to an audience that looked to be in the hundreds of thousands. Looks like many travelled all the way over there.
“Attention Humans, Elves and Dwarves alike, I go by Blaine Glayder. While all of you know me as the King of Sapin, today I speak, not as a the King of Humans, but only one of the representative of the Continent of Dicathen!”
The hundreds of thousands of people all kneel, some going on all fours in worship at the sight of the King. The blurry projection becomes clearer and zooms in on the balcony of the Castle. There I see The King of Sapin in the front, while the Queen of Sapin, Priscilla Glayder, was seated behind him alongside a few other important looking figures. My eyes widen as I recognize Alduin and Merial Eralith, the King and Queen of Elenoir with Grandpa Virion standing behind them with his arms crossed. Besides them are two representatives of the Dwarves, which I assume to be the King and Queen.
“Today marks the beginning of a new era in this Continent we call our home. I assume many of you know of the existing problems between the Humans and the Elves while even the Dwarves were considered just business partners. However, that is not the way we wish to continue. The representatives of all three kingdoms, YOUR leaders, have met together many times over the past few years in effort to unite our races. Two years ago, we have agreed for ALL races to be able to become adventurers. It started out with just one or two representatives, but now it has expanded. It brings me a smile when I see parties with humans, elves, and dwarves alike, working together towards a common goal. Last year marks another big landmark where Xyrus Academy welcomed students from the Kingdom of Elenoir and the Kingdom of Darv so that the new generation of the best mages can make friends and memories with not just humans, but all three races. We all understand how difficult it may be for some of us to adjust after constant enmity between the races, we urge you to let go of the past and the discriminations you may hold and think beyond that, if not for yourself, but for your children and the future of this Continent.”
There was another big round of applause with a roar of worship and adoration accompanying it. King Glayder sat down and Alduin Eralith, the King of Elenoir and Tessia’s father, got up from his seat and cleared his throat before speaking into this world’s version of what seemed to be a microphone.
“It is an honor to speak on behalf of everyone here on this unforgettable day. As King Glayder so adamantly spoke about, I am also in agreement about the future of this Continent. For some people, this may not hold much interest but for many who yearn for Adventure and new places to visit, I can wholeheartedly say that this Continent is filled with many unknowns. An obvious example is the very the Beast Glades residing in this Continent. While an uncountable number of Adventurers have ventured out unto the Beast Glades, it is not an exaggeration to say that not even half of it has been traversed. While the mana beasts have not left the Beast Glades, who is to insure that, just because they haven’t yet, they never will? Even in our own homeland of Dicathen, there are places so dangerous, no one dares to explore, but what if I were to say that even greater mysteries and dangers are out there?”
King Eralith gives a brief pause while the crowd in Etistin and the crowd here in the City Square of Xyrus fill with sound of murmurs.
“That’s right! You have not heard wrong fellow citizens of Dicathen. We are announcing today, February 10th of the 1005thCycle, that we have found evidence of another Continent.”
The crowds break out into a clamor of noises, some angry, some afraid, everyone curious. Even my own hands shake in excitement as my father and Vincent look at each other in shock.
“Please. We ourselves don’t know very much so your guess is a good as ours. What we do know, is that out there, possibly within reach in a couple of years, is another continent that may or may not be hostile. There have been evidence of them trying to reach us as well, but on both sides, it seems that our current technology does not permit us to travel that far.”
The crowd shown in the Capital is in chaos until the Dwarven King rises from his chair and walks towards the microphone.
“QUIETTTTT!!!”
*Silence*
“As Alduin said, we don’t know much. However, in these times of uncertainty and possible threats in the future, wouldn’t you guys all agree that standing besides one another is what’s best for this Continent and our people? YOUR children can be in danger as well. The last thing we want is to fight amongst ourselves. Our appearances may be different and our cultures may clash, but remember this…we are all born in this continent of Dicathen. I for one am proud of that and hope that future generations will feel the same way. What about you?”
The crowd is silent at first but a couple of claps trigger more claps and suddenly a huge boom of applause and cheer breaks out. The Dwarf King wasn’t as eloquent in his words as the two previous kings that spoke, but his words had a very strong impact. Even Elijah next to me was clapping excitedly as Sylvie continued to watch the screen in curiosity.
“The process of joining our three races and Kingdoms will take time and much effort, but today, we will be anointing 6 individuals, individuals that we, the three Kings and Queens, believe to be the most courageous, tactful, smart and powerful.”
From the back of the podium, 6 individuals come out, two elves, two humans and two dwarves. Clad in a refined white armor that varied slightly for each person, they walked up and knelt down on one knee.
The three Kings each made their way in front of the 6 kneeling knights and took out from a small ornamental box, 6 rings. King Glayder of the Humans presented the rings to the two elf knights while the Dwarf King presented it to the two human knights. Finally, King Alduin of the Elves placed the rings on the two Dwarf knights, stating that they stand and bow to the crowd. As the cheers exploded, King Glayder went up and spoke once more.
“These 6 individuals will henceforth be granted the title of the Six Lances. Each Lance signifies the ties they hold to not their Kingdom, but to the entire Continent. This is a truly historical moment as the first Lances have been anointed. These 6 individual’s main goal will be towards the well-being of the Continent, whether that be exploring dangerous and unknown dungeons in the Beast Glades, as well as working alongside us, the rulers of this Continent to ensure that our home is protected when the time comes that we are met with foreign hostilities from the different Continent.”
Once more, the crowd roars as many throw flowers and the clothes that they’re wearing up in the air.
“Lastly, while the title of being one of the Six Lances may be a prestigious one that is comparable to even ourselves as Kings, this title also brings upon great burden and danger. Children of the new generation that seek to become the future protectors of this Continent, strive to be one of the Six Lances! Grow strong and noble as not even the heavens is the limit!”
With that, the four orbs making up the corners of the projection float down as the image of the announcement fade, the last thing we hear were the chants of “Long live the King, long live Dicathen”. The City Square was filled with excitement as everyone started discussing about different things.
Beside me, I hear Elijah muttering to himself, “Wow… the Six Lances… That sounds awesome.” The children within the crowd already started play acting the scene of the anointment, shouting with their friends that they too have become one of the Six Lances and are going to go out and fight evil.
A part of me wants to be excited as well. Hell, I was excited! The prospect of a new continent to explore with different people and maybe even different races intrigued me to no end. However, I was quite cynical of this whole thing. Sure, the points they make are quite true, but in the end, they’re just making this new Continent the common enemy so that all of the races of Dicathen can unite. It was old tool used by many Kings but an effective one that works.
Still… my heart as, not just a King, but a warrior and mage thirsting for adventure and excitement, thumped harder and harder.
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