Rayla quietly opened the door to find Callum talking on what he said was called a telephone.
"yes, the five feynor birch are in the back of the garden. They'll be prepped for transport by then."
Remembering that was what he'd called those trees, and shuddered at the memory of that horrible taste.
She finally managed to get some traditional Moonshadow elf clothes, well they were made by her people who currently reside in Katolis.
She plopped herself on the sofa to wait for him to finish talking to whoever was on the other end, she didn't know how this "technology" stuff worked but she'd figure it out eventually. She noticed his sketchbook lying there and decided to take a look. She was surprised to find that it filled with detailed sketches, ranging from portraits to scenery.
He eventually finished his phone call and turned to find Rayla sitting on the sofa looking at his sketchbook.
"You're good," Rayla said, as she kept going through Callum's sketchbook.
"So I take it you're the one responsible for all these?" she said, waving towards all the paintings in the room.
"Most of them, though I've still can't draw Xadian scenery until I've actually seen the place." He said, his face a bit red as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'll be blunt, if you can draw Xadia this well based on what people describe then you should just quit being royalty and be an artist full time."
"Well my art does sell for quite a bit so I'll need to hire an elven body guard for my safety ," he said, looking at her with a smirk.
She went over to one of the armor sets and took its helmet then put it on, then kneeled in front of him "Your safety will be assured my sad yet artistic prince." Her voice was deep.
"You have proven yourself worthy of your generous compensation," he said, posing like some arrogant plump nobleman.
"I'm unworthy of such lavish prai... pfft." she said before both of them collapsed laughing.
"phew... so did you need anything?," he asked after managing to recover from her most recent antics which were a welcomed distraction from his responsibilities.
"yes, do you have any music sheets for a harmonica?" she said as she showed him the harmonica she got from the music room.
"Sure, they are in another room, come on... so why only the harmonica?" he said leading the way.
She shrugged and said. "It's the only one I know how to play. So why does this place have so many chandeliers?" the amount this place had was just too much.
"The guy who owned this place sixty years ago was running from an assassin, he shot his revolver randomly in fear and one of the shots hit the rope for a chandelier which then fell on top of his would be killer."
She giggled at this "So then he started worshiping these things?"
"The only thing he didn't do was change his name despite everyone expecting him to," he said
"pfft ahahahahahahaha I can see that, Lord Chandelier of House Chandelier, prophet of the supreme chandelier ahahahahahaha!" she couldn't contain herself.
"Say what's so special about those evil tasting trees that you urgently need to move them or are they part of secret Katolian delicacy?" she asked,.
"Those trees are what allows humans to use dark magic so easily." he said
"What? How? I thought Dark magic needed a lot more" she didn't understand this.
"The sap from that tree is the main component for making a special material called etherium, it absorbs primal energy from around which we can harness to fuel spell, it maybe far less potent but it we can cats spells using components harvested from non-magical creatures so none of our spells are reliant on harvesting parts of magical beings. " He said
She was glad to hear that her fellow Xadians could live in this kingdom without worry, but that left another question.
"If its less powerful then..."
"Then how do we manage? we eventually managed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our spells, but that also means that if we use any living thing thats born with a magical connection then it would be immensely powerful," he said, his tone made it clear he wasn't exaggerating. She understood now how the human forces were able to easily defeat the Xadian expeditionary force.
"So where are you taking it if its so important?" she asked
"To an island off the coast, its where the majority of our feynor birch are located and its protected by our fleets." She felt that he was about o say more but stopped, she figured someone of her standing wouldn't be allowed to know more than necessary.
They kept talking till they arrived at a room. there were no instruments inside but he went over to a cabinet, opened it, and began sorting through several sheets of paper. "Here's you go, these are all for harmonica's."
"thanks, are any of these like the one you keep playing?" she asked.
"It's called the Whereabouts of Light.," he said, she quickly found it among the sheets he gave her.
"It was my mother's favorite song."
"Your mother.. oh, I'm so sorry," She remembered that Queen Sarai died in an incident involving the dukedom. That made the dukedom's army stop their advance and headed back to the breach in fear Katolis would retaliate which allowed Xadia to regroup and mount a proper defense, many proclaimed it was a miracle as the lives of many innocents were saved as a result. But there was no way she couldn't say that to him.
None of them said a word as they headed back.
At a similar time in Neolandia
Former King Ahling was happily walking across the palace and saw his daughter-in-law.
"Evelyn" He called out as he made his way to her.
"What is it sire," she said, she bowed in greeting
"How many times must I say this, we are family now, so you can call me father, dad, papa," He said affectionately. He had to abdicate because of his health though he wished to wait a few more years before pushing the throne onto Kasef.
"I'll try... fa-father," she said, trying to hide her embarrassment, Ahling smiled at her.
"How are you adjusting to your new life here?" he asked
"I am able to adjust somewhat, though I'm still not used to this weather I'm afraid."
"that's alright, take as much time as you need. If you ever miss your birth family then you can visit them, our nations share close ties now... also if my son or anyone causes you any trouble, come to me I will personally straighten them out." His tone was serious.
Many had objections to the political marriage between her and Kasef but he wouldn't stand for anyone harming his children even if that threat was from his own family.
Some of them had valid reasons for their objections but they needed this treaty with Erdus to obtain their technology for airship manufacturing or risk falling behind the other nations. His nation also shared trade agreements with Evenere so he couldn't form a treaty with Katolis without jeopardizing that. He felt like he had failed as a king and was merely passing his failures to his son and his people.
At the very least he wanted to make sure she would be able to live a happy life in her new homeland. No, he would ensure it, he corrected his thoughts.
In the Estarian Confederacy, Chairman Vincent Rosenthal was reading the encrypted message that he'd received from Katolis.
"So the offer of alliance was sent to Erdus." His face was grim.
He turned to his advisor "Make sure to notify the 'dancers' of this development through the usual channels."
The advisor bowed then left to carry out his task.
"There is no turning back after this." Vincent said then slumped in his chair, he'd hoped this gamble would succeed.
He then dialed up the admiralty. "This is Chairman Rosenthal, I've received word that Katolis will be delivering those ships to us ahead of schedule, make sure to prepare enough personnel to crew them the moment they arrive."
One of the terms of their alliance was that Katolis would hand over to them any ship they plan to decommission after removing any technology that was classified as a state secret. This allowed the confederacy to maintain a larger fleet with ease.
Without their alliance with Katolis, the Confederacy would become the final piece of Evenere's trade empire.
His nation's fate now depended on whether or not they would accept Katolis's offer for an alliance.
After four days of constant practice, she had finally managed to learn The Whereabouts of Light.
Callum was sitting nearby clapping, saying how good it was, she smiled and felt her face warm-up for some reason.
She bowed then asked "You told me this song originally involved multiple instruments right? well care to join?"
He went to get his violin and took out a small box, she eyed it curiously. "What is it?" she asked.
"It's a music player, let me just set the instrumental recordings." he said as he pressed a few buttons on it,
"My mother made a few recordings of her singing, I figured you should be a part of this since you've been putting in so much effort"
"Thank you" was all she said, she knew this song meant a lot to him so she had to give it her best. He then took his violin and waited for it to begin.
The music of a piano came from the small box filling the entire room.
They both started playing as soon as the vocals began.
"Shadows that you cast, like the stars above
Leave without a trace once morning light has come
Where you are right now, I've not a single clue
But still I cannot stop thinking of you"
Times that I lost hope, times that I stood tall
In our journey here, my heart has seen it all
So as long as you had been standing by my side
I knew that I would always be alright
Think back to the times when I was with you
There was nothing that we couldn't do
She found the late queen's voice to be so beautiful. The song made her remember being with her own parents.
There is not a truth, nor a single lie
In the simple fact that day comes after night
Even when the darkness fades into morning light
I'll always recognize the glow you left behind
All this time, I'd been dreaming by myself
In a made-up land where no one says farewell
Too naive to see what was reflected in your eyes
I wonder what the world you saw was like
Think back to the times when you were with me
Nobody can take those memories
Whether it be pain, whether it be fear
Know that if you need me, I am always here
If only I could see eye to eye again with you
Then anything we dream for can come true
See the rising sun bring a brand new day
Open up and feel the gentle winds of change
Thinking of your voice and your warmth, our everyday
I close my eyes and feel myself in your embrace
She had never seen him so peaceful before. This song was all he had left of his mother, she was glad Calum wanted to share this with her.
Memories of us in my heart and mind
Let them all be free in this never ending sky
Even when the darkness fades into morning light
I'll always recognize the glow you left behind
I will always love you until the very end
I trust that fate will lead me back to you again…
When the song ended she finally allowed herself to relax and let the moment wash all over her.
She then turned to face him only to see him standing motionless, his were eyes closed it was almost like he was still listening to his mother's singing. She stood there waiting, not wanting to take this moment away from him.
