A/N: Special thanks to Aevari, Rave, and Tin for proofreading this chapter. Without your help i wouldn't be able to provide the quality seen here. Sorry for keeping all of you waiting, but as promised here is the beginning of the sequel to The Heart of a Guardian! If you've made it this far into the story and haven't read the previous story, I highly recommend you stop now and read the prequel. A lot of this story draws from the events that happened there and, trust me, there was a lot that happened. With that said, I look forward to your feedback! Thanks for reading!
A pair of cyan, puppy-paw eyes traced the length of the line from Nape to Tail as the salty morning breeze of the ocean ushered in the warm northern air of the inevitable summer. Their lights were beginning to fade at the waking hours of twilight, starting yet another day for the people of Hamel; another day of survival for the young king.
The celestial string: a somewhat curved line of twinkling light that began at the north star and ended at the south star. In colloquial terms they were called the Nape and the Tail, respectively. Everything else around it was just beautiful extras that complimented the line. Someone had once told him that if he were ever lost, he could rely on these stars to guide his path. Yet as he stared up at the constellations, only a sad, almost longing sense of nostalgia came to him.
The young man missed them dearly. He wished he could once again see their faces, or at least hear from them from time to time. But he knew what that meant. Relying on those people would be a sign of weakness for a king such as himself. His people were looking up to him as a leader. To show weakness would only shatter their cracked resolve.
"Just as our scouts have reported: it looks like another messenger raven—from Velder, judging from its direction of approach, my king," a rather rotund half-otter-half-man said as he peered through the spyglass. Dressed in scholarly blue robes that complimented his orange-brown fur and a tiny pair of glasses resting on his muzzle, the advisor looked as jolly as he was intelligent. Standing atop a tall wooden lookout tower amidst the outskirts of the ancient waterway, the trusted advisor kept his sights locked on to the single black speck on the approach from the horizon.
The advisor's voice was shrill and grating to its sole listener and the king trained his sights towards the general direction the otter was looking towards, squinting his eyes against the retreating night sky in an attempt to hunt down a black speck amidst a violet backdrop. It must have taken more than a keen eye to spot something so small from so far away. Still, his scouts have proven their commitment time and again to their jobs.
"Very well, Denka. Commend them for their vigilance," the young king said as he stood at the bottom of the tower, still trying his best to spot the tiny speck, "Double their rations for the day."
"You know we can't, your majesty, given the, uh, problem," Denka muttered, doing his best to remain discreet should any prying ears be within listening distance.
"I think we can manage that much for them," the king nodded, not budging on his order.
"If you say so… And what shall we do with the raven, your majesty?"
"The same thing we did to the last one. Shoot it down," the king's words were direct, commanding, this time. His tone was one the otter knew not to argue against. "If it has anything to do with the empire my people are better off without it."
"As you say, my king," his advisor mumbled, putting away the spyglass and making his way down the stairs. The king had not waited for him, however, and by the time he reached the bottom, the otter caught the sight of his king's long blonde locks disappearing just out of his sightlines past a pair of giant defensive harpoon launchers that flanked the path leading down the sheer cliff face. Seeing as his majesty had left him behind and was already halfway down the docks, the otter lifted his robe and hurried after him.
Dressed in messy, earthly colored rags that mirrored the state of his kingdom, and with a face that looked far too young to belong to a king, the young man slung a rather large cannon over his shoulder before making his way down towards the docks along the bay's massive cliff face.
"King Seiker!" he called after him, stopping the young man, "Where on Elrios are you going?"
The king turned to his advisor with a bright, almost unsettlingly confident, smile, "To address the food shortage you mentioned yesterday."
"By going down to the docks?" the otter asked in befuddled confusion, "King Seiker, I-I know you mean well but might I remind you risking your life fishing to feed your people with that thing still out there… why, that's practically suicide!"
Chung shook his head, turning as he continued down to the docks where a boat and a single oarsman waited for him.
"You said it yourself, Denka: this month's harvest hasn't been great and we can't rely on our crops alone to feed all of us."
"B-but fishing?"
"We live on a bay, don't we? It's a natural source of food," King Seiker replied matter-of-factly. He boarded the tiny rowboat as the oarsman, a familiar young guardian-in-training, gave the otter a rather casual salute. He was tall, with a body well built for combat. His once shaved head had grown into a short brown fade. With skin tanned from long hours working in the sun, it greatly contrasted the white trainee Freiturnier armor he wore.
"G'morning, advisor!" the oarsman greeted with a quick bow.
"Zudrich!" Denka exclaimed, "It's good to know someone with a sense of reason is available. Would you kindly convince our king to cease this madness and keep his feet on dry land?"
"Actually," the trainee rubbed his neck, "I'm under his orders to come along with him."
"Are you both insane?!"
"No," the guardian-in-training replied, "I'm very much aware of how incredibly reckless his plan is. But I'm here to protect him more than anything else."
"And the other trainees?"
"I… haven't gotten around to telling them, yet."
Chung laughed, "Zuzu just wants the glory to himself."
"Your majesty, with all due respect, you told me not to tell anyone else. I came alone, as ordered."
"You'll make a fine paladin one day, Zuzu."
"Provided we survive," Zuzu muttered with a roll of his eyes.
"Survive what?!" Denka cried in a panic, now, as the guardian-in-training pushed the boat off the dock.
"I told you, already," Chung replied, pulling on the necklace from under his shirt. A guardian stone was pulled into view. Beautifully embroidered in gold in the shape of the paladin's crest, the stone radiated a luminescent blue much brighter than the old one he lost during the temple of trials, "I'm going to address the food shortage."
"I—He—Is that your father's stone?!"
Using the stone to channel his El, a tingling sensation swept over the king's body. Magical energies were siphoned into the stone before being directed towards the weapon in his hands. Chung pulled the reload lever of his cannon, listening to the satisfying 'thunk' of fresh rounds filling the chamber.
"Almost forgot what that felt like," Chung commented before hefting the cannon back onto his shoulder and waving at Denka, "Guardian stones are hard to come by nowadays. I'm only borrowing it, anyways. I'm certain my father would have wanted me to use it in his place. Don't worry, I'll return it in one piece!"
"I'd rather you return in one piece! Get back here this instant!" Denka shouted as the distance between the two grew, "I mean it! Now!"
Seeing as the boat was doing anything but turning around, the otter hurried back up the stairs, muttering loudly under his breath. Chung assumed it was to call the other trainees.
"Be sure to tell the scouts that I commend them!" Chung called after the otter. He sighed, sinking onto his seat as he watched the otter's short legs hobble up the stairway. "You try to fix a problem and people get mad at you. Such is the life of a leader."
"Advisor Denka has every right to be angry, my king," Zudrich whispered as he continued rowing.
Chung sighed, seriousness finding its way through the cracks of his smile. He carefully took a seat at the boat's center to avoid capsizing the two of them. "Yeah, well, this is for the survival of our kingdom, Zuzu. We won't have enough food to feed everyone until the next harvest, so drastic measures are going to have to be taken."
He could see the trainee nod from the corner of his eye in agreement as they both silently floated their way across the kingdom of Senace's bay.
"I could've handled this alone, if you asked, my king."
"You could die by yourself if I had. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something were to happen to you in my stead."
"Likewise for me, to you, my king. Hence why I willingly chose to follow you."
"Because if neither of us are allowed to die, might as well have both of us, right?" Chung muttered sarcastically as he turned his attention to the distant sunken city closing in the distance. They continued on in silence once more. The air growing thick with tension as the young king sensed the trainee to be gauging his resolve.
"We don't have to do this, King Seiker. There are other options, you kn—"
"I can't," Chung interjected, hastily, "I won't. Not after what they did to us."
"But, my king, without outside help, our people—"
"I will not rely on an empire willing to kill us just to exploit our stone's power. This discussion is over, Zudrich. We are not going to bend to Velder's wishes."
Chung waited for the trainee to speak as the silence that remained bore heavy on the king's shoulders. Ever since that day—ever since he banished Velder troops from his kingdom, he swore to never open his borders to them for as long as he ruled over Hamel. The past few months may have been difficult rebuilding a kingdom from the ground up, but he saw the resolve in his people, he felt the fires of their loyalty to the crown burning brighter than it ever did, even for his father. He knew they could harness that energy to give every day their all into rebuilding their home. But was energy and enthusiasm enough for a country that had next to nothing?
Amidst the energy of his people's unquestioning loyalty, Chung sensed the shadows of dissonance lurking among them. With the recent food shortage still kept under wraps, it was only a matter of time before the already starving populace must cut their daily rations even more. He knew what an empty stomach could do to an army. Chung feared what it would do to a city of refugees.
Finally. Zudrich spoke.
"As you say, my king. I'll follow you to the grave if I must."
It was a phrase Zuzu repeated again and again throughout these trying times. Those words were either comforting or exhausting depending on the context he recited them in. In this case, it was the latter.
The boat continued to coast over the dark blue waves of the bay. With the demons no longer controlling the El Stone, the purification efforts led by Sasha and her acolytes-in-training were starting to have visible effect on the surrounding waters. Although his advisor suggested they focus their efforts on using the blessed waters to secure a meaningful food source for their farms, the king had a more ambitious vision of clearing the taint from the bay. As much sense as it made at the time to begin planning for the future, the month's crop failure was a disaster the king was hoping wouldn't happen.
Zuzu gently directed the boat around one of the surviving support columns of the great eastern bridge that once connected the city of Resiam to Senace's waterway. Much of the city that once stood as Senace's pearl in the ocean, had long been lost under the dark waters of the bay. Nothing had been done to restore the city, nor did Chung think it would ever be possible in his lifetime. The towering high rise buildings leaned against one another in the brink of collapsing, the once busy streets had disappeared underneath the tides, and even the Velder encampment - hastily left behind after they were banished from Hamel - were only visible through the red canvas tops floating just above the water's surface.
Resiam was slowly sinking and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
"This should be the place," Zuzu whispered, bringing the boat to a stop at particular clearing amidst a forest of old skyscrapers.
"You sure this is it?" Chung asked, standing as his eyes scanned the blue waters that glittered in the sun.
"It was where the scouts spotted the beast multiple times, my king," Zuzu reported.
"You got the bait, then?"
The trainee extracted a bag from underneath his seat, unleashing a storm of flies as he opened the bag. He pulled out a netted bundle of rotting fish tied to a rope, covering his nose in the process while holding it in front of his king.
"The entire week's harvest,"
"Better than usual, huh?" Chung joked as he fanned his hand at the stench. Zuzu didn't laugh. The king cleared his throat, "That'll change once we get rid of the beast."
"Hopefully."
"Toss it in."
Zuzu did so, throwing the bundle over the portside of their little boat. And then they waited.
Chung scanned the surface for any movement, shifting anxiously in his seat as the two sat there in silence. For the first few minutes he was on high alert, head turning to even the slightest sound of water gently lapping against the boat's side. Frankly he wasn't sure if this plan was going to work in the first place, but given their situation, he couldn't sit around idly while his people starved. This may not be the best solution but it was the most immediate.
The minutes rolled by with nothing but the calm blue waters underneath them. Nothing was happening. By then, Chung only scanned the waters just so he wouldn't have to look at the trainee who was very much observing his king at this point. He didn't want to talk to him.
"King Seiker," Zuzu said after a while, his words causing the king to bite his own tongue in anticipation.
"Yes, Zuzu?"
"About what we were talking about earlier—"
Chung sighed, closing his eyes. "No."
"It doesn't have to be Velder, you know."
"Then who?"
"Sander, maybe?"
Chung shook his head, "They're a greedy nation, Zuzu. I've considered that option time and again, but we don't have the coin nor do we have the means to even establish a form of trade with them. What can we give them that they don't already have?"
"Fish?"
The king chuckled, "Once we down this beast, maybe. But even still, that's not enough for what we would ask of them."
The trainee nodded, leaving the conversation at that. Normally Chung would have appreciated the silence, though the trainee's eyes told the king that he had something else in mind.
"Any other ideas?" Chung asked, nearly regretting his decision to coax it out of the young man.
"Uh, maybe?" Zuzu chuckled half-dismissively, "I know I'm stepping out of line for even suggesting this but, you know, since they're in a desert and all—"
"You've stepped out of line since you brought this conversation up in the first place. Do you think I care about hierarchy when we're floating alone out here in the middle of dangerous waters? Speak to me as your equal; as if I were a squire as well."
"My king, you know I can't do that."
"You can. Try me, Zuzu. When formalities are dropped, I'd like to think of myself as easy to approach. At least that's how it was before I left the El Search Party."
Zudrich drummed his fingers on his seat as he rolled his head around the idea, his shoulders visibly slacking as he relaxed. "If you insist, King Seiker. What I was trying to say is we could offer Sander our Water Stone services."
The trainee had his attention, now. Since as long as he could remember, Hamel's water magic had been exclusively theirs. If others wanted state-of-the-art healing magic, or the purest water for the most volatile or reactive alchemical applications, Hamel was the only place to get it. During its peak, travelers from all over the world would flock to the secluded peninsula just for their water. And now Zuzu was suggesting they export it? At the condition they were in?
"Everything from shards to healing waters. Maybe even open the borders to them and allow people to visit us? This would open up work opportunities especially with the rebuilding process."
"So you want to give another greedy nation the chance to exploit our El Stone like Velder did?"
"Well—When broken down to its basic form of reasoning… yes?"
Chung's eyes narrowed at the suggestion and the trainee rubbed his neck as he tried to explain himself.
"Sander isn't resorting to opening a demon gate just to gain control of our stone. My king, with all due respect, our people are suffering. We don't have the means to stand on our own. Who knows how long it'd be when Velder decides to come right back and take over Senace? Velder isn't aware of it, yet, but if they so much as sail at us with a small fleet of ships, we can't do anything about it. Those two harpoon guns mounted alongside the waterway's walls? That's all we have. Given how long it takes to even produce one guardian stone, I doubt we'd have a cannon ready if they do decide to pay us a visit. Even then it won't be close to enough. But with Sander aiding us in reconstruction, we can focus on preventing that from happening. Don't you agree?"
The king leaned forward, resting his chin on his knuckles as he considered the trainee's proposition. He had never liked Sander for their profit-driven, egocentric ideals, but with how things were going in his kingdom, did he really have a choice?
"You may be onto something, Zuzu," the king relented, garnering a smile from the trainee.
"I'm glad you are seeing things our way, my king."
Chung blinked. "Our way?"
"Ah, yes. 'Our' as in the high priestess and the advisor."
His majesty sighed pinching the bridge of his nose, "I thought you were being uncharacteristically brilliant. So Sasha and Denka put you up to this?"
"Are you calling me stupid?"
"No! I didn't mean that," Chung defended, "I just didn't expect such a specific answer from you."
"You may have my loyalty, King Seiker, but that doesn't mean I can't think for myself. I saw legitimate reason in their suggestion and it is my choice to pass the idea on to you. Now whether or not you listen is beyond my control, know that I won't be afraid to speak my mind if I see fit."
Chung relented in a long, drawn out sigh, "Fine. You know I was beginning to lose sleep over everything, anyways. Better to have someone tell me in private than have an entire kingdom's worth of people doing it at my doorstep."
A smile appeared on the trainee's lips, "So we're in agreeance, then?"
"Yeah. We'll ask Sander for help."
"When will you send an emissary?"
"Better now than later, I suppose. I'll even go, myself."
"Yourself, my king?"
"When I was little I never understood why my father was often absent from the castle, even when my mother's health was declining. Now that I'm older I think I understand why he always visited other kingdoms in person rather than send someone else in his stead. I think it was because it was easier to speak for yourself rather than have another speak for you. A lot of the other nations respected him for that and I wanted to mirror that sentiment. Besides, what better way to meet other nation's leaders than in person, right?"
"But, the trip through the mountains is perilous," Zuzu reasoned, "Let's not forget the expansive desert that you could easily lose your way in."
"If it bothers you that much then you can come with me."
"Me, sire?"
"If neither of us are allowed to die, it might as well be both of us," Chung joked. Again Zuzu didn't laugh.
"Lighten up, Zuzu. You've talked me out of doing something stupid into something potentially more stupid."
"Right," the trainee grumbled, rolling his eyes, "Speaking of supposedly terrible ideas, what made you want to resort to doing this anyways? I mean, baiting and hunting Big Blue? I've never heard of a king so willing to die for the sake of their people."
A sad smile crossed the king's lips, "You can say it's an inherited sense of courage."
"Courage or stupidity?"
"Both, I guess. But it's just something I learned out in the field throughout the years. Sometimes you have to do something completely stupid to fix things. And sometimes they just really work to your favor."
"The El Search Party, I'm guessing?"
Chung didn't answer. But a sense of longing and loneliness was written all over his face.
"You never told us about your exploits as part of the famed adventurers. I'm sure the others would be inspired with your stories."
"Some things are just better left forgotten, Zuzu. That part of my life is over. Our paths diverged after Hamel. And if they're going to support a nation that would go through such horrible lengths to gain power, then I want no part in it."
Chung stared at his hands in silence. The battle-worn calluses in his palms were beginning to fade from the months since he last wielded his destroyer. He had made a promise to never use the weapon again, yet here he was waiting for a giant eel to come take the bait. It wasn't too late to put the weapon away, though. As Zudrich had presented, there were other solutions available.
The king stood, setting the cannon aside and reaching for the rope. "Well, I think we should get going then, huh? Clearly Big Blue isn't coming so we might as well pack up and leave before—"
Chung pulled on the rope but only found himself pulling the entire boat towards the bait.
The two of them looked at each other before Zuzu took over for his king, yanking the rope hard enough to nearly capsize their little rowboat.
"It must be caught on something," the trainee grunted as he rose from his seat and gave the rope a series of tugs.
The entire time, the king hung on to the other side of the boat, helping to balance the weight as he became acutely aware of the unusually blue shimmer of the waters beneath him.
The sun hadn't even risen past the mountains yet.
"Zuzu. Let it go."
"I almost got it, Chung, don't worry," the trainee grumbled as he pulled the rope again and again.
The water shimmered once more and, to the king's horror, the blue pools underneath opened, revealing a deep red and black eye, shadowed by the boat that floated over it.
"Zuzu. Let. It. Go. Now."
In the far distance, Chung saw the small ripple of waves as the giant eel's tail whipped into motion.
"I can't. I borrowed this rope from the owner of the fishery and I told him I'd return it once—"
The rope pulled back, causing the trainee to lose his grip and fall back on the boat. The rest of the rolled line rapidly unraveled itself as the entire body of water seemed to flow as one entity towards the distant cliff walls.
A knot formed, catching the trainee by the leg just as the last of the rope disappeared into the water. In that split second, both of them leapt for the knot in an attempt to free the young man but before they even had the chance, Zuzu was quickly pulled overboard.
Chung was sent rolling back as the entire boat lurched forward at a near breakneck burst of speed. Salt water came crashing over the king as he tried to keep himself from being swept away. It didn't take long to find out that the guardian-in-training was clinging on to the railings for dear life as the giant beast under the water pulled the two of them out into open waters.
"Cut yourself free!" the king ordered through the torrent of seaspray.
"With what?!" Zuzu gurgled as the beast swerved violently to the left, back towards the bay's cliff face, causing the trainee to lose his grip with one hand.
Chung leapt to the front of the boat, catching Zuzu's free hand before rooting himself onto his seat in an attempt to pull him back onboard.
Upon reaching open water, the boat slowed briefly but not before the rope began to pull the trainee downward. The beast was diving.
Chung's grip tightened around the man's arm as the both of them hoped that he could just pull his friend out of the bindings.
His hand began to slip, however, and no matter how hard he tried to maintain his hold, the king could do nothing but watch in horror as Zudrich disappeared into the dark depths.
"Zuzu!" Chung cried as he quickly rose to his feet in a panic. He could dive in after him but not with his cannon. What good was he in water against such a beast without his cannon? The other option was to shoot blindly into the water, but he had no way to tell if he was in danger of hitting Zudrich or if he struck the beast. As far as he could tell, though, it was a far better solution than waiting for the beast to just give his friend back.
Balancing himself on the boats edge, he pointed the barrel of his cannon down into the dark depths, searching for any signs of movement to draw a bead on. There was nothing but the black waters below and with every second he spent waiting was another Zudrich spent drowning. He fired, sending a high velocity cannonball into the water's depths. It connected with the seafloor, exploding in a faint flash of blue. In that brief flash of light, the young king swore he saw just a piece of the hauntingly large silhouette of a demonically mutated coral serpent far below.
He fired again, drawing a bead on the previous image's location and he saw the monstrous eel's shimmering scales as its entire form snaked its way around the boat.
He sent another two rounds downward, the last hitting its intended target as a low, ghastly groan seemed to rise from the waters around him.
Chung rolled back on the boat, pouring his El into the guardian stone as he tried to load a full clip into his cannon.
The boat shuddered and nearly capsized as the beast suddenly burst out of the water in a giant pillar of white seaspray. The tiny boat careened backwards as Chung dared not fall off and lose his only weapon. The rowboat came to a stop and the king found himself staring up at monstrous, blue-scaled beast that towered several stories above him. It had a face larger than a galleon and a maw that could easily swallow smaller ships. Its jagged rows of teeth seemed to grin at the tiny morsel before it as its giant red eyes fixated on the king.
"Hey, Big Blue," Chung said, his voice shaking as he reached for his weapon, "Remember me?"
The beast reared its head, letting out a piercing howl that caused the cliff face behind it to crack under the sheer volume of its call.
"I'll take that as a yes!" Chung replied, rising to his feet as his ears continued to ring.
He trained the barrel of the cannon at the monster's head and was nearly about to fire when he noticed a small figure dangling by a rope hanging out of Big Blue's mouth. Zudrich flailed about wildly as he hung helplessly right under the beast's chin. He was alive! And he looked to be doing his best to free himself from the knot. The giant eel seemed completely unaware of his presence at all. The way Zudrich swung right under the beast's head made it nearly impossible for Chung to take the shot without putting the trainee in danger. Yet as Zudrich attempted to free himself, Chung could barely manage to make out a tiny thumbs-up from the guardian-in-training. It was as if he was telling him to go ahead and shoot.
Like hell he'd do that.
If he could just buy enough time for him to—
The king was sent airborne as the eel's tail violently came crashing down on the boat, creating another powerful column of sea spray that carried anything caught in it skyhigh. With nothing but the wind to guide Chung's flight he quickly found himself staring down a giant maw, waiting eagerly to swallow him whole. All the while he spotted the trainee finally freeing his leg and plummeting to the waters below.
Thinking quickly, the king rolled to bring his cannon to bear. Sending a shot downward that struck the beast on its nose and giving enough recoil to just barely alter Chung's trajectory to fall past his waiting mouth rather than in it.
The cannonball punched through the beast's thick scales, leaving a deep gruesome hole where its nose and most of its upper left jaw used to be.
It shrieked as Chung landed along the gentle slope of the eel's body and he continued to roll wildly towards the water. He fired his cannon again, away this time, using the recoil of the blast to bury the bladed edge of the weapon into Big Blue's sides. His descent slowed to a stop but not before creating a deep gash along the side of the beast.
It writhed its body, training its eyes down to the little thorn on its side and opened its jaws to strike at the king who could do nothing but hang there helplessly.
"Fire!" a shrill, grating voice ordered from along the cliff's edge.
In that moment, a harpoon was viciously driven into the beast's gills, causing it to turn at the new threat.
"Fire!" the order was given again and a second harpoon found its mark under the beast's chin, punching straight through the roof of its mouth and embedding itself deep in its skull.
It tried to pull away, but the thick chains anchored into two gigantic winches held strong against the struggling monstrosity.
"Get on the crank! All together now!" Denka ordered as all thirty-nine of the other guardians-in-training manned the large gear that began to reel Big Blue in. The entire cliff face shuddered under the strain as the eel fought against the combined strength of nearly forty Hamelians.
The entire time, the beast shrieked. The wails were earsplitting for Chung as the body writhed against the water.
The beast's body angled over the cliff's edge, giving Chung enough footing to hang on before it was angled enough for the king to carefully climb up along.
"Hold!" Denka's voice was heard over the cliff edge as the body came to a stop. Chung carefully continued his trek along the eel's body, doing his best to keep his balance as the beast's large body slowly lurched under him.
He cleared the gills, receiving a rather unpleasant spray of blood and sea water as he passed, before cresting over the cliff's edge and standing just over Big Blue's eye.
The giant orb turned to him and upon seeing the king, the eel let out another shriek, struggling in the chains with such might that the trainees holding the beast down were nearly knocked off their feet.
"Don't worry, Big Blue," Chung said, hefting his cannon and cramming the barrel into its eye, "I'd rather not waste any more time with you, either."
He pulled the trigger, causing a spray of blood, water, and eye juice to burst from the monster's head, covering everyone unfortunate enough to be helping the king. The beast tensed as it gave one last dying wail before its entire body went slack. Chung stumbled off the beast, keeping his weapon pointed at Big Blue's head, waiting for it to spring to life once more. It didn't, and after what seemed like a minute of waiting, the entire cliffside of participants gave a unified sigh of relief.
"Thanks for that, Denka," Chung exhaled, trying his best to wipe the grime from his face with his shirt but only managing to smear the pink mush over himself, "Though I doubt a single bath is going to get rid of the stench—"
"My king!" Denka's face was visibly red through the orange fur and pink eel guts.
"I—I warned you! I… Reckless!" the advisor scolded, "Absolutely reckless! It was foolish and… and thoughtless! And reckless!"
"No!" a haggard voice coughed from beyond the cliff edge. The two turned to its source just as Zuzu, soaked from head to toe and missing a few plates of his trainee armor, appeared limping up the stairs to them.
"Advisor, it was my fault," he gasped, coughing out the salt water from his lungs, "If I hadn't been tangled by the rope we would have most likely escaped largely unharmed."
"You're not hurt are you, Zuzu?" the king asked, looking him up and down.
"Bruised, my king," Zudrich replied, slumping his shoulders, "maybe a bit waterlogged and possibly with a concussion, but not that far off from our daily training regime, really."
Chung sighed, patting the young man on the shoulder, "I'm sorry I had to put you through that. It wasn't my intention to get you killed—"
"I know, my king. I know," he smiled at Chung, "If not either of us, why not both of us, right?"
The king chuckled, pulling him in for a tight hug that surprised the trainee.
Denka was beside himself in anger. "Are you two done celebrating your foolishness?! You forget that our king's life was on the line here! Why, if you died, I… I..." with the rush of the moment finally over the otter rapidly broke down into tears.
A pang of guilt hit Chung right in the chest as he immediately moved to comfort the advisor. "Denka, I'm sorry. Yes, I know what I did was stupid, but look!" he motioned at the slain beast, "An answer to our problem!"
The otter sniffled and blinked at him in confusion, removing the tiny glasses to wipe his eyes before putting them back on. All he saw was a giant dead beast.
"Erm… forgive me, your majesty, but, what exactly am I looking for, here?"
Chung cleared his throat before leaning in towards the otter, "The answer to the food shortage problem."
"W… what?"
"Guardians!" Chung shouted, causing all the trainees to stand at attention, "Gather the others! We'll want as much of this stored before the meat goes bad."
"Yes, my king!" they all answered in unison before taking off to the ancient waterway.
"Erm, not you, Zuzu. See if any of the acolytes are available to tend to your wounds, okay? Have to make sure you're ready for the upcoming trip."
"At once, my king," Zudrich saluted and limped back towards the waterway gates.
Denka's brow furrowed even more, "Trip?"
"Hope you won't get tired of eel anytime soon," Chung said, removing the guardian stone that hung around his neck and handing it over to the advisor, "If we can get everything stored in refrigeration we can be set for a month or two, don't you think?"
"King Seiker… what trip?"
"I mean, look at the size of this thing!" Chung stood over the cliff motioning at the rest of the eel that was still submerged underwater, "Maybe all this food can last us a year! Do you think it's plausible to keep food stored for that long? Though now that I think about it an entire year of eating strictly eel might do more harm than good for our diets."
"King Seiker!" Denka shouted, garnerning a knowing smile from the king.
"Yes, my trusted advisor?"
"You… mentioned a trip? Please tell me you're not doing anything reckless, again, are you?"
"Define reckless?"
Chung could see the color draining from the otter's face.
"Denka, relax. I just had a talk with Zudrich. He convinced me of doing something I thought was rather stupid to begin with."
"And that stupid idea is…?"
"A trade agreement with Sander."
The otter looked as if he was about to have a heart attack from the suggestion. It was hard to distinguish whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, but given the circumstances, the prince figured it was the former.
"E-excuse me? My king, are you saying—"
"Advisor, notify the Hameling handlers and gather supplies for my trip. At first light tomorrow, I'll be going to Sander."
"Do you feel that's everything I'll need?" Chung commented as he was sure the advisor was fixing a third pack of towels onto Irim's harness. The white dragon groaned under the layers of equipment strapped to its back. One would think the king was preparing to move out of his kingdom entirely with all his personal belongings stowed on the Hameling.
Just like yesterday, the king was early out of bed well before the sun rose. judging by the bags that hung over his Hameling as well as under the otter's eyes neither of them had the luxury of sleep last night.
"Maybe I should have the castle hands prepare a separate bag of hangers just in case," Denka muttered.
Chung sighed and approached the Hameling. "That won't be necessary," he said as he unfastened a strap. The entire payload of personal items fell onto the grass with a soft thump. He dug through the pile and extracted a single worn backpack that he personally packed himself before turning in for the night. Dressed in thick, carefully knitted, white and grey layers and a blue flowing scarf for the coming trip over the mountains, the prince looked as he were preparing for a cold winter day.
"M-my king! A single bag? But you'll be traveling for who knows how long!"
"One of the most important things I've learned during my time as an adventurer is to travel light," he toted the single bag, "Only bring what's absolutely necessary. Everything else would just weigh you down."
"Good morning, your majesty!" Zudrich called as he appeared from the temporary commons area within the waterway complex. His choice of wardrobe was significantly more humble compared to the king's and consisted of earthly colored wools and a wolf's pelt draped over his shoulder. Had he grown a beard and bore an axe, Chung could have easily mistaken him for some sort of winterborn barbarian. Slung over a shoulder was a single travel pack
"Right on time. Good morning, Zuzu."
"I packed light, as ordered, King Seiker."
"Good. I say we're just about ready to head out then?"
"Your majesty," Denka interrupted, "With all due respect, you do realize the Hamelings aren't made for the desert beyond the vast mountain range, don't you? It takes roughly an entire day's worth of flying to span the entire mountain range. Once you've reached the northern reaches of our natural border, I fear the temperature may be too warm for our reptilian friend. What will you do, then?"
"If I remember correctly, my father mentioned a traders outpost he would often stop at to hire transport through the desert from there."
"Erm… with the conditions of our country in the past few years, I highly doubt that outpost would be functioning at all, my king."
"I have to at least try. If anything, I'll just travel along the border and search for any settlements that can point me the right way."
"That's not good enough of a plan!" Denka protested.
"Relax. If I can't find a way to reliably cross the desert I'll be back by tomorrow evening. Promise."
The otter scrunched his nose at him, gauging the worth of the king's words. He reminded the king of Rena in that parenting sort of way and he wondered if this was how Elsword must have felt when the elf looked at him the same way Denka did.
The otter relented.
"Very well, your majesty. I'm just worried for you, that's all."
"I understand."
"But, before you go. There's one more thing that I wish to address. High Priestess?"
Chung and Zudrich turned their attention towards a slender figure standing off towards the waterway gates. Flanked by an entourage of acolytes-in-training bearing ceremonial torches, they approached their departing king with the same dignified sense of purpose often seen in their religious gatherings.
Once before their leader, the High Priestess gave a deep bow, prompting the others to kneel.
"Sasha," Chung whispered, "You know how I feel about all the formalities. Stand. A simple farewell is good enough."
"King Seiker," the priestess began, "On behalf of the people of Hamel and our goddess who governs the mystical powers of water, it is with great honor that I present to you a gift symbolizing their unified will."
She stepped aside, allowing the acolytes to present their offerings wrapped in regal purple cloth to their king. Nine pieces of armor were unraveled. The leg pieces of the armor consisted mostly of jet black Hamelian steel, while white layers along the sides of the chest plate, shoulders, and gauntlets complimented the sleeker, more streamlined design. Horatio's absence was noticeably absent in the armor's less regal design choices as the molded plates seemed to be much heavier than the previous armor set Chung had to grow into. Despite this, the gift was beautiful and the pristine shine to it left Chung staring slack jawed in awe.
"Is… that really for me?"
The High Priestess nodded, "When meeting the leaders of other nations, one must represent their own to the highest degree. I believe this armor is as functional as it is durable. It may have taken us months to develop but without the late Horatio guiding our smiths, the process took much longer than expected. Still, I hope it is to your liking… I thought you might have need of it since your last set was completely destroyed. I secretly asked the smiths to dedicate their time in producing one for you. Sorry for not informing you."
The king was the first to break formalities and hugged the high priestess, causing the other acolytes to erupt in a mix of shock and giggles. "You didn't have to do that, you know," Chung commented.
"I wanted to," she whispered back, "It's the least I could do to repay you for saving me from Ran."
"Congratulations, your majesty," Zudrich whispered.
"And Zudrich," the priestess continued, catching the trainee off guard, and garnering a knowing grin from the king as he pulled away from Sasha, "Kneel."
The young man did so, and King Seiker took the stage, standing in front of the trainee as he held out a piece of paper scrawled with notes bearing Sasha's neat and curvy handwriting, he read the passage out loud.
"For your exceptional performance as a squire before and during the initial demon invasion that ravaged our lands several years ago, for outstanding display of leadership during Velder's banishing, and your undying loyalty to our cause, we would ĺike to present you with this"
The acolytes parted, letting the weapons and armor smiths wheel in a brand new cannon and a matching white Hamelian Knights armor personally crafted and lined with wolf's fur along the shoulder plates. A bright blue guardian stone hung on to the armor's chestpiece and began to glow brighter as it drew closer to its intended owner.
"The first guardian stone created under such trying times in our history; the symbol of hardwork and dedication. We believe this honor belongs to no one else but you. You may rise, Fury Guardian Zudrich."
The guardian rose wobbling to his feet. "It's… I'm humbled, your majesty."
"Don't thank me. Sasha did most of the work," Chung said, motioning at the priestess.
"This gift was long overdue, Fury Guardian," the High Priestess added, "It takes quite a while to make even one of these guardian stones. May it protect you in all your future endeavors."
As the newest guardian began fitting on the new armor, Chung was busy putting his away in another bag.
"Not going to try it on, your majesty?" the advisor asked.
"I'm fairly confident it will fit," Chung shrugged, "besides, I don't even have a guardian stone of my own to put it to full use. I'll wear it when I have to when I reach Sander."
"That's a shame," Denka in mock dejection, "and here I was curious to see how it would look with this seated on the chestplate."
He held his paw out before Chung and the king's eye caught the distinct glint of gold and glowing blue El. It was his father's stone.
"Denka, I… you mean it?"
The otter shrugged as the king gingerly took the stone off his paw, "I don't see why not. You were right. Your father would want you to have it. And since you're crossing the desert it's a lot more useful to you than it is to anyone else here. And like I said, I'd rather you come back in one piece than the stone."
Chung ran his thumb gently along the golden frame. The soft hum of El coursed through the stone as he cradled the jewel.
"Use it if necessary," Denka whispered, a tear rolling down his cheek, "And come home safe, my king."
Chung gripped the stone, turning to the otter and giving him a tight farewell embrace.
"I will," Chung replied, "I promise."