Old Rivalries
Act 1: New Horizons
This is a sequel, if you haven't read the first, I recommend you do
An Infinite Chronicles Story
Chapter 1
Finally, a home. Months of strife and suffering, the people of Echaos now had a stable home. It had been the world I envisioned, one that I fought for. Four years had passed since the War for Home, as it was called now. I turned around in my bed, the bright yellow sun bathed my face. I groaned and wiped the muck out of my eyes and got up. Our cabin up in the mountains gave us a lovely view of the bay below us. Annoyingly, the large window was near my bed, making it hard to sleep longer.
I took a shower, had a nice breakfast, put on my favorite dark blue long coat that doubled as my one-armed cape that replaced my old paludamentum, pinned my medal on it and walked out of the house. I took a deep breath of fresh air. I walked down the path into the town of Anesi, a nice cheery small town that we had founded previously. I preferred staying up here instead of the industrial happenings downstairs.
The armu's bellowed quietly in their farms as I walked the by cobbled street. The morning air of the village was always satisfying. A child ran past me giggling as his friend chased him. A pullum crowed from somewhere.
"Morning Hazel!" a neighbour called out as he tended to his crops. I smiled and waved. That's what I loved about being up here, everyone knew each other and we were like one large family. Nothing much happened here, and we were all happy to be blissfully ignorant.
Not all of my friends chose to stay here, Steve had gone back to Viomachina and has advanced our technology by a lot in the past four years and Elanis was still Queen of Erimos. Jess and Ace stayed together with us up here, happily engaged, although Ace does occasionally go back to Regeum, being promoted as a Commander, although he still prefers to be called Lieutenant.
I walked over to their house and knocked on the door. "Come in!" she called. I opened it and I felt something tug at my leg. I looked down and gave him a hug. It was their child, Hugo. I was named his godmother. "Wow he's really growing," I picked him up and sat down next to Jess. "How's Sera doing?" she said as she took him from me. Sera, or Seraphine, was my daughter. Now normally, a human and a blade couldn't have a child, but she was created artificially using some of my blood. Yes it was strange, but I had always wanted a child, and it was the only option.
"She's also growing alright," I laughed as Hugo tried to pummel me with his tiny fists. His dark eyes and hair made him look so cute. "Where's Ace?" I asked her. "He's down in Regeum, doing whatever military business there is down there. Speaking of which, aren't you also supposed to?" she wiped some drool off Hugo's chin. I sighed. I was nominated as the Grand Admiral of the Echaos Coalition, meaning that I had my own share of military duties to attend to. Another reason I was situated here, the mountain next door was where I worked.
When I say mountain, I mean a massive fortress that was built in the Claw Mountains, named after the three peaks of the mountain, the main headquarters of the Coalition. "Yes, but I don't have to do much unless it's a war Jess," I said. Looking at her, I can't really believe how much we all changed. Undoubtedly, we were all more mature, yet we still kept some of the sass we had years ago. We had all grown taller, and had an air of seriousness around us. My golden-brown hair used to reach the tips of my shoulders, but now they stretched down to my shoulder blades and were darker.
"Where's Infinite and Avalon anyway?" I looked out of the window. "They're at the usual spot," Jess fed Hugo some food. "Well, I've got to go meet up with them, I'll catch up with you later," I put on my dark blue military cap and pulled my fingers away from Hugo's mouth, causing a moan of protest. I walked out of their house into a nearby hill. Aside from being called Anesi, it was also called Heroes Rest. Up in the hill were Avalon and Infinite sparring.
Ever since they split, they sparred together to keep their skills sharp, for what reason I never knew. They spotted me and withdrew their weapons. "Good morning!" Avalon said. "Why do you train everyday? It's like you know a war is coming or something," I shook their hands. "You never know when you might need it," Infinite said. "Sure….." I said sceptically. "Anyway, I'm going over to the Fort soon, look after Sera will you?" I sat down on a picnic mat they laid out. "Sure, have a great time," Avalon pulled out a bottle of refreshing drink.
I began my hike towards Fort Utgard. Yes I could take a horse or any other mode of transportation, but I preferred walking through the emerald green grass, swaying trees and the colorful flowers. After a short twenty minute walk, I arrived at one of the gates. Tall stone walls ran as far as the eye could see with guards on top. "Papers please," a guard in a post stated. I showed him my badge. "Ah yes, welcome Admiral Hazel," he said as he pressed a button that opened the gates.
Now Fort Utgard was the definition of intimidating. Huge blocks of stones made up the exterior, yet these were the energy absorbing variant, making them more resistant. Large balconies were lined with turrets, in case we had an attack. It lay in the middle of the U shaped continent. In the east was where we first arrived, filled with the once living titans of Echaos that formed the right side of the U. In the middle of the U was a large bay where the Alieia District lay, a place where fishing and some military activities took place, and above it, Fort Utgard. The left side of the U was majorly not yet discovered as it was mostly a thick jungle, yet close to it lay a freezing wasteland.
I absent-mindedly fiddled with the edge of my high collar cape as I walked through the main hall, a large room where you could see multiple floors, both to the top and the bottom of the mountain. A large insignia hung over the main desk, the symbol of the Coalition. A seven-pointed star with different colors, crimson red for Crimsona, twilight purple for Phantomi, steel gray for Viomachina, dark green for Epitychimenos, midnight black for Regeum, moonlight white for Erimos and imperial gold for Ischyros.
The floor of the main hall was a map of the continent was etched in the marble floor. Metal pillars supported the vaulted roof, where the top of the snowy mountain was hollowed out to install large windows for natural light. It was an impressive building, one that was only built in four years mind you. I inserted my card in the elevator and shot upwards, taking it to my office. Being an Admiral was serious, you were not just a commander of a navy fleet, but also a powerful political figure in making decisions.
Typically, a major decision is made by the leaders of each nation, The Senate, plus two leaders from the military, the Admiral, me, and the Praetor. I sat down at my desk and grabbed the documents on my right. A little bit of troop complaints, yearly expense of ships and a report of new technology for ships. Only one caught my eye. A dark green file with the insignia. I grabbed it and frowned when I read it.
I returned home three hours later. Avalon and Infinite were at the table preparing food. Jess, Ace and Hugo also came over. "Hi Ace," I put my beret and cape on the side and grabbed a chair. "How's it going," he washed his hands and sat down next to me. A small figure clung to my knees. I smiled, "Hi Sera, I missed you too," I picked her up and put her on my lap. She had long dark hair and for some odd reason, the ends of her hair were a bright purple, possibly due to her creation.
I booped her tiny nose, causing her to close her purple eyes and giggle. She slightly resembled me, other than her long hair and face, she looked more like Infinite. I set her on a chair next to Avalon, where he gave her an ice cube to chew on while the food was being served.
I checked in the kitchen to find Jess and Zero cooking. Jess was stirring a stew while Zero diced some carrots onto a plate. "Need any help?" I asked. "You could help by cleaning the dishes," she teased. "Who do you think cleans up after dinner?" I laughed.
After an interesting dinner and putting Seraphine to sleep, I grabbed both Avalon and Infinite back to the dining table. "What's up?" Avalon asked. I put the dark green file on the table. They took it and looked at each other. "Yes, reports of a tall, broken tower in the distance, and possibly another continent," I stared at them. They didn't say anything. "You knew about this, did you?" I looked for any trace of response from both of them. "I think it's about time we told you about this," Infinite took a seat. "It started when we fought Omega..." Avalon began.