Elsword: Lord Knight
Chung: Iron Paladin
Aisha: Elemental Master
Elesis: Grand Master
Rena: Night Watcher
Add: Master Mind
Raven: Veteran Commander
Eve: Code: Empress
Ara: Sakra Devanam
Lu: Noblesse
Ciel: Royal Guard
Curse of the Sea City's Crown
Chapter One: The Peace Offering
Hamel. A marvelous city and a marvel in of itself. The city itself is sometimes called the Eighth Wonder of Elrios for it beauty. Grand marble arches dotted the city, reaching from house to house over the massive moats both deep and large to shallow and small. All the moats fed water through the city and linked together into the giant spring in the center of the castle courtyard.
It was a special day as well. At long last the kingdoms of Hamel and Velder signed off a peace treaty. The two kingdoms were on very tedious terms, in the past they had warred together. In Velder's attempt to secure peace they made an enticing offer to the queen of Hamel. Their most prized Knight.
At this moment, a young man with crimson hair stood at the edge of the ship transporting him to Hamel. A bag was slung over his shoulder as his gaze looked over his new home. Despite being the tribute and now to serve his life out in Hamel as the royal guard, his allegiance would always be to his homeland. Elsword was his name, and he was known as a one man army. In a key battle during the war, the armies of Hamel marched through a chokepoint through the mountains to flank the city but even when his entire regiment fell Elsword stood his ground, singlehandedly fending off the countless warriors until his reinforcements arrived. Hamel accepted the offer, knowing their royalty would be safe in his hands.
"It's a nice city I suppose." He said to himself as the ship docked with the port. He got off and was greeted by four guardsmen.
"Elsword Sieghart?" The head captain inquired.
"Yes." He presented the papers detailing his assignment to the crown. The captain nodded and escorted him through the city.
Elsword analyzed the city as they walked. It was very secure, an invading army would probably get lost in the massive capital, and the moats could be very dangerous during the winter where the snow melted and the moats rose in strength.
"We will always have our eye on you." The captain said, not trusting the Velder Knight.
"Understood." Elsword said. The paranoia was understandable. After the long walk through the city, several citizens watching as he passed, they arrived at the castle courtyard. Two women stood in front of the fountain and after a short look Elsword took a knee when he reached them.
"Knight Sieghart." The queen began, "From this day forth you will be my daughter's personal guard. Her life is superior to yours. If you must lose your life to save hers-."
"I will give it willingly." Elsword said. The guards all glared at him for interrupting the queen but her kind smile warded them off.
"Very good. I present to you my daughter, Chung Seiker." Elsword looked up at the princess. Her long blonde hair was like a sea of gold, her pale skin nearly shining in the pale light of the sun.
"A pleasure to meet you." She said.
"The pleasure is my mi'lady. It is an honor to serve you." He said.
"Chung, if he acts out in any way please inform me immediately." Delilah said, "Captain, come with me."
"At once your highness." He said. The guards cleared out and Elsword remained on his knee.
"Please, get up Elsword." Chung said.
"As you wish majesty."
"Please, call me Chung when my mother isn't here." She said.
"Very well."
"Don't be so uptight, I don't like it when people are so formal with me." Chung said, "I will not treat you as my guard, but as a friend."
"Very well Chung." Elsword said.
"Shall I give you the tour?" Chung asked.
"Well, I will need to learn of the vicinity." Elsword said.
"Then please, come with me. I'll show you the garden first." Chung said. Elsword followed along.
Chung brought the knight to the royal garden. Servants were dotted about as they mothered the blooming flowers. Violets and Tulips and Roses lined the hedges.
"So, Elsword, what flowers do you like?" Chung asked.
"I don't much care for flowers." Elsword said. He was a knight, not a florist. Chung frowned.
"Come on, you must like something." Chung crouched down and plucked a Tulip, "I like Tulips myself, you?"
"Well, a rose is appropriate I suppose." Elsword said.
"Why's that?"
"By luring a threat into a false sense of comfort they will be exposed to the harsh thorns beneath." Chung frowned.
"Such a violent deduction of the symbol of love." Chung said, "Please tell me you won't always be like this."
"My apologies Princess." Elsword said. He looked around and found a question plaguing his mind, "Chung?"
"Yes?" She was glad he didn't call him 'princess' again.
"Why are there so many moats? In the event of a breach it would be catastrophic would it not?"
"Well, the moats are well protected and very strong. Living with the sea we came to revere water. And there is…another reason."
"What is that?" Elsword asked. If he was to protect this castle he had to know the details.
"Elsword, do you know of the Sea's Curse?" Chung asked.
"No, but I have heard the term before."
"The royal family was cursed long ago." Chung said, sitting down, "Our ancient forefather angered a powerful mage of the sea, and she cursed his family line with…well I suppose it would be easier to show you." She leaned back suddenly and fell into the pool she was sitting on.
"Princess!" Elsword leaned over the ledge, not knowing if she could swim. However what greeted him took all words from his mouth.
"This is our curse." Chung said, reemerging and showing him in depth. Her lower body had formed into a long, blue scaled tail with light, transparent turquoise fins, "When the women of my family enter water, we transform into a being of the sea, a mermaid."
"Is this truly a curse? It seems rather resourceful." Elsword said, trying not to stare at her. She was even more beautiful in this form than she already was.
"Our children all tend to be female, proving it difficult to secure a male heir to the throne." Chung explained, "We take our royalty very seriously, in the past before the curse our family all inbred, keeping our blood strong. The mage struck our ancestor where it hurt, and we can no longer keep our line strong in blood."
"I see." Elsword said.
"This is also why there are so many moats, so we can get around easily when in this form." Chung said, "I myself rather like it, I always loved mermaids when my mother read me fairy tales as a child."
"How far do the moats span?" Elsword pressed.
"I won't say anything else if you are only doing this for military reasons." Chung frowned.
"If I do not know, I cannot protect you." Elsword said, "Please, I insist."
"Hmm…fine, but only if you promise to ease up soon."
"You have my word."
"The moats span the entire city, with a few hidden passages to points only me and my mother can reach."
"So, in the event you are alone and under attack…"
"I can get away to safety." Chung said, "Now come on, enough of that."
"Are there any maps? I will need to know where you could be if you need to hide. Last thing, I swear." Chung sighed.
"The guard captain and my mother each have a copy of the map of the moats, but only mom has the one with the safe zones on it."
"So, do the people know about this?"
"Yes, I actually swim through the moats a lot and play with the children." Chung said. She has a fondness for socializing with her citizens.
"Can you tell me more about the people here? I must get false impressions due to my homeland." Chung saw his question appropriate. Being from Velder Elsword would be under extreme suspicion.
"Well, they're all nice people who look out for one another. I always nip out to a local bakery run by a sweet girl about our age who makes the best bread. I think of everyone in the city she'll accept you the most, she hated the war, always telling me it was a foolish endeavor."
"It was. I killed a lot of people I wish I hadn't, but my home was in danger."
"So you did what you had to. I understand." Chung said. Most families weren't in mourning from the war, as only a scarce few of the soldiers had families of their own, most lived alone.
"Do you have any questions for me?" Elsword asked, knowing Chung seemed to be the talkative type.
"Hmm…Do you have any family in Velder?" She swam around in a circle on her back.
"An older sister, Elesis. She's a knight like me, taught me everything I know."
"She must be very strong to be the teacher of the infamous One Man Army."
"That tale is rather exaggerated, I had the superior position." Elsword said.
"You held off an entire army by yourself. Doesn't matter where it happens, that's damn impressive." Chung pressed her praise.
After some time Chung crawled out of the pool.
"Chung, how do you return to normal?" Elsword asked.
"Oh, it takes some time. So will you carry me until I do?"
"If you wish." He said. Picking her up he carried her on his back. She bore a smug smile as she lied since she was able to revert back to normal whenever she wanted too, "So, how long does this normally take?" Elsword asked.
"Dunno. It's random." Chung said, "Sometimes I gotta go to bed like this."
"That does seem like an inconvenience."
"Eh, it's not too bad." She held him tightly, "Not when I have a strong man like you to carry me around."
"It's my duty." Elsword said. Chung frowned but he couldn't see it, her attempt to flirt failed miserably. Heh, I'll get to him eventually. Chung said. She had plans for this arrangement. After hearing about Elsword during the peace treaty meeting, she could only describe it as 'love at first sight'. He was strong obviously, he could keep her family safe. But he was also kind, generous, and loyal. He seemed to be everything she was looking for in a man.
"Say Elsword?" Chung poked his arm as they walked through the garden.
"Yes?"
"You ever have a crush on anyone?"
"No, I never felt like it." Elsword said.
"Hey! Get your grimy hands off her!" A voice yelled and Elsword suddenly leaped back as a bolt of random lighting struck the floor.
"Aisha! Stand down!" Chung instantly ordered. There was a soft breeze of serene silence before a woman walked around the corner. Elsword stayed on his guard.
"What's going on here?" The purple haired mage asked, dusting off her long white coat.
"I took a dip to show Elsword, the one given to us by the treaty, the details of the curse. He's just carrying me around until I turn back to normal." Chung winked at Aisha, hinting for her to play along.
"Ah, I see. Well, I suppose introductions are in order." She curtsied meekly, "Aisha Dewmont, royal magus."
"And you already know who I am." Elsword said.
"Yup, and if you touch her for any reason other than transport during this form I will sear the flesh from your skin. Starting with your manhood."
"Duly noted." Elsword said. Aisha walked off and Chung let him go, getting onto the floor and back to normal.
"Well, I'm going to be going to see my mother now. Welcome to Hamel, Elsword Sieghart."