The smell of fish hit us first, long before we actually entered the harbor. Finally, something familiar to me, even if it was slightly off from what I knew. We parted ways with the merchants once the buildings were in view, forging ahead to safety and civilization.
"So, what now?" Kamui questioned me as we walked into the town proper.
"We need to get out of Valentia," I responded, glancing around to look for anything of interest. "Rigel isn't gonna be happy with just the Mila Temple for long. Desaix is a traitor anyways, he'll sell Zofia out. We need to get across the ocean."
"You mean, to Archanea?" Kamui asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Archanea, or one of the countries on the continent," I confirmed.
"You just want to leave?" Silque spoke up. "You don't want to help these people?"
I sighed, turning to face the girl. "Look, Silque, I'd love to stay and fight. But I'm not from here, and anyone can tell," I motioned to my unusual hair and eye colors. "Plus, you and I were both probably seen escaping the Temple, and I have the Kingsfang's blade. We'd be shot on sight." I winced as soon as the last words left my mouth. I hadn't meant to be so harsh, but I needed to get across to her that we were in real danger.
Luckily for me, Kamui cut in, "One of the merchants from the caravan said he was going to Grust, didn't he? We might be able to hitch a ride with him."
"And leave Zofia to be overrun?!" Silque raised her voice, tears starting to shine in her eyes. "The Mother Mila is dead, and you want to run?! People need our help here! Rigel will ruin everything we love! And you just want to hide like a coward!"
Something in me snapped at the accusation and I roared back, "Don't call me a coward!" The blue-haired girl flinched back, but I continued, "Would you rather live to see Zofia take back its lands or die before it's even overrun?! Because if you want to die, then be my guest!" Kamui caught my wrist as I gestured wildly, and met my glare with a stern and stony face.
"Enough, both of you. Staying in Zofia will either trap or kill all of us, and if Rigel wants to take over they'll cut off the port first. We need to leave sooner than later if we want to leave at all."
"So you want to run, too?!" Silque cried out, and Kamui turned his stern face to her.
"I want to fall back temporarily, so we can live to fight another day instead of picking a fight I know we can't win," he rebuffed. "Nobody ever said anything about staying in Grust for good."
He was right, and we both knew it. With a sigh, I let my arm go slack and Kamui released it moments later. "Sorry, Silque," I apologized, "I'm more conflicted about this than I look. Of course I want to stay and help people, but it's just too dangerous for me, and for you too." She was quietly crying, and I winced when she let out a tiny hiccup. "Hey, Silque? Can you look at me for a sec?" She did, and I did my best to give an encouraging smile. "I promise, we'll come back and save them."
"R-really?" Her eyes widened.
"Cross my heart." I made an X shape over my heart as I spoke. "We'll save them."
"...alright." Silque hiccuped again, and Kamui put an arm around her.
"Let's go find a ship."
"'Ey, boss? What's our next move? We've been 'ere for a few days now, and those Dolhr guys're gettin' close to us."
The bandit leader glanced over to his subordinate. "We ain't stayin' 'ere any longer. Tell the boys to pack up, we're goin' after our next mark."
"Aye, boss." The smaller bandit ran off to tell the rest of the group as his leader turned back to the map he had been staring at.
"Time to take down Old Grey," he growled with a smile.
His lackeys gasped when he told them the plan. "Boss, are you crazy?!" one of them said. Another put in, "Old Grey's fought with Dolhr soldiers and won! Boss, there's no way we can take that thing!"
The boss laughed. "Oh, there's a way, alright. Just 'cause 'e's bigger doesn't mean 'e's any different from the rest. Mark my words, boys, Old Grey's gonna go down, and we'll be the ones who did it!"
"Lady Minerva, you called for us?" The redheaded princess nodded to the three sisters as they approached her, looking at the blue-haired knight who had spoken.
"I did, yes. At ease." Catria let her posture relax.
"Catria! She said at ease, you know! You can stop acting like a statue!" Est's energetic voice rang in Catria's ears as her hotheaded younger sister shook her shoulder, and she barely managed to suppress a wince. Without responding, she reluctantly relaxed further as Palla chuckled at Est, just like she always did. She didn't even try to stop her, Catria thought as her sisters began to talk. She never tries to keep her in check, just lets her do whatever she wants. As if we're not elite warriors reporting directly to the Princess. If anybody saw her acting like this, if it wasn't just the four of us, she would be demoted and punished at the absolute least!
Her eyebrow twitched as Est cackled loudly and broke her train of thought. Gods forbid she ever lets us have some kind of dignity. If anybody outside Macedon saw us, we would be the laughingstock of the continent!
Minerva let out a quiet chuckle before composing herself, and Catria's focus returned to her. "As much as it is good to see you, there is work that must be done. It has been brought to our attention that there is a group of bandits that have taken to hunting and killing the wild wyverns in the area. They have been seen selling the wyverns' hides and talons in more than one village, and unfortunately they seem to have strayed into Dolhr as well." Palla and Catria winced at that. Macedon's relationship with Dolhr was bad as it was, but knowing the kingdom of manaketes, their "diplomats" would be furious about wyvern hunters trespassing on their territory.
Est spoke up, as loud as always. "Why are they doing something like that? Don't they know how wrong it is?" Her blue-haired sister sighed internally at that. She loved Est, really, but her younger sister's special brand of naïvete had a way of ignoring the obvious at all costs.
"Because they either don't have a choice, or don't care," Palla explained calmly. Est dramatically dropped her head to look at the floor, and stayed like that until the oldest Whitewing stepped over to lift her chin up with a gentle finger. "Don't worry, Est," she told her, "we'll set this right." She glanced back to Minerva. "That's why you summoned us, isn't it?"
Minerva nodded. "I could think of no better choices to bring them down. Use lethal force if you must, but it would be preferable if some were to be brought in alive." Meaning, we need to bring at least a few back so they can be handed over to appease Dolhr. The three sisters nodded.
"We won't disappoint you, milady," Catria said. The princess nodded with a pleased smile.
"I trust that you won't. Palla, Est, I wish to speak privately with you both." The middle Whitewing froze. What? Why just my sisters? What do they have that I don't? Catria automatically bowed and left, her mind in a daze. Why? Did I do something wrong? No, that can't be it! But, why…?
Being on a boat was more or less what I had expected. Boring, smelling like fish, being told constantly to get down from the rigging when I climbed it just to see if I could. Kamui took to it better than I did, spending his time stitching or helping the cook make meals. At least I was better off than Silque…
"Ugh…" the priestess-in-training groaned as she bent over the side of the ship and threw up again. "I wanna go back…"
Turns out she was allergic to the specific fish that was our most common meal, the poor girl. Nothing life-threatening, thankfully, but it wasn't fun for her to constantly be leaning over the side of the ship trying to keep something in her stomach. "At least it's not real seasickness!" I tried to reassure her, and got a death glare for my efforts. I held up my hands in surrender quickly and left her to her misery.
On the fourth day of the trip we were caught in a storm. Normally this wouldn't have been so bad. We would have just stayed off the deck, as much as everybody got frustrated at my fidgeting.
That was before something loud slammed onto the deck above us. We glanced at each other, faces showing various degrees of concern, and one of the crewmates risked a peek out the hatch. He pulled it shut immediately and glanced back at us with wide eyes, whispering, "Dagon." Various colorful curses flew around the room, and a few weapons were drawn. Dagons, from what I'd been hearing for the past few days, were extremely bad news. One had apparently been enough to take down three ships at once, and now there was one on the deck of our ship.
That was very much a problem.
The dagon was bigger than I expected, somehow.
It had been decided that we'd rush it quickly to try and drive it away. Killing it with what we had on hand was out of the question, so this would have to do. It snarled and roared when we got up to the deck, a guttural noise that sent shivers down my spine. Degenerated or not, this was a dragon all the same, and my thoughts went to the blade carefully wrapped in what was left of my hoodie for a moment. Thunder crackled overhead, and almost as if it was a signal, the crew of the ship charged. Kamui and I rushed in behind them, looking for an opening to strike.
Kamui found one first, hacking at one of the creature's back legs after circling around. Its hide was tough, though, and his blade didn't do much damage. In response, the dagon's tail whipped around towards him, dealing a serious blow to the mercenary and sending him sprawling on the ground. His sword skittered away, settling on the other side of the rain-slick deck.
"KAMUI!" I shouted, redoubling my efforts to pierce one of the dagon's joints. Nothing we threw at it seemed to work, though, as the creature reared up on its back legs and slammed back down, sending crew members flying back. I was thrown with them, but I barely managed to stay on my feet. The dagon roared again, now turning towards Kamui, and I pushed off of the wall I had been thrown against to rush to his aid. The blue monster's gaze was fixed entirely on my friend, and its fangs were bared as he stared into its eyes. In the blink of an eye, its head shot down, ready to tear him apart-
"NOSFERATU!" The dagon froze, shaking, before it stumbled away from Kamui. Silque stood on the deck, eyes filled with fury as she cast again. What was she doing up here?! Was she trying to get herself killed? There was no way she could last against this thing if Kamui and I couldn't! Its eyes locked on to her and it roared again, and no way in HELL was I letting it touch her!
My lance struck true, and the dagon let out a howl of pain. It quickly dove off the side of the ship, and before long was completely out of sight. I let out a sigh of relief, then glanced at the eyeball still stuck to the tip of my lance. "Wonder how much this'd go for at the market?" I wondered out loud, and with that the tension broke. The crew broke out into cheers, slapping each other on the back and laughing.
Kamui coughed, pushing himself to his feet. "Not enough to be worth doing that again," he said, and Silque giggled. I whirled around and pointed at her.
"What did you think you were doing, Silque?!"
"Saving Kamui's life, obviously!" she shot back, and I couldn't fault her for that.
"Silque-" I sighed in defeat. "We couldn't have done that without you, yes. Thank you. But please don't make a habit out of drawing the attention of things like that?" I pleaded, stepping over to her and pulling her into a hug. She was surprised at first, but quickly returned it.
"Alright, Isaac. I promise." That was enough for me, and the last of the tension and adrenaline in my body fled for higher-energy pastures.
"Thank you," I told her, and released her from the hug. "I'm gonna go lie down," I said to nobody in particular, and made my way toward the hatch.
"You, lying down for a break? Somebody get the spyglass, we might see a flying pig!" Kamui joked, and I flipped him off as I went below deck.
The moon had risen high into the night sky, revealing the endless sea of stars above. The usual noise of people ever-present in the castle had fallen silent, leaving nothing but the quiet whistling of the wind. Aside from the vigilant souls charged with the duties of night guards, everyone in the castle had long since gone to sleep.
Everyone save Catria, that is.
The blue-haired warrior stood in the training grounds, holding a training spear and running through various drills with it. Thrust. Thrust again, lower this time. Upward slash, followed by a sharp jab with the butt of the weapon. Back around for a sweeping blow that sent a gust of wind away from her, pulling dust from the floor as it went. Catria held herself still for a moment, then sighed, letting her tense arms slacken as she returned to a neutral stance.
"Quite an impressive display." A voice rang out from behind her, and Catria went stiff, unused to hearing such blunt praise from the familiar voice. She turned around, her cobalt eyes meeting Minerva's crimson and the knight snapped into a salute.
"Lady Minerva. I thought you had gone to bed already."
Minerva waved her hand for Catria to relax. "At ease, Ser Catria. In truth, I thought the same of you." She stepped out from under the door, gazing up at the heavens. "Why are you out here so late at night?"
Catria suppressed a wince at the question. "I was merely training, milady. Practicing my technique on foot, should I ever find myself without a mount." It wasn't a lie, but it also was not the full truth. Minerva hummed at her answer.
"A wise action. Many of the troops would find it pointless, to practice for a situation that might never occur."
"That may be, but I disagree," Catria responded. "I won't let complacency stop me from improving."
"And that is why you were the youngest Whitewing in decades," Minerva nodded. Catria instinctively cringed at the word "were", but returned the nod.
"Thank you, milady. It was an honor that I took great pride in." She couldn't keep the bitter tone out of her voice, kicking herself mentally when the older woman turned to her with a sigh.
"Catria. I understand why you're frustrated, truly, and I suspect that frustration is what brought you out here tonight." Catria almost scowled. Does she really understand? What gives her the right to say that, like she can see into my soul? Her grip on the training spear tightened. How could she understand what it is like, to constantly be one-upped by my sisters? To be eternally stuck in the middle, unable to do anything but listen to all the noise from both sides as they're eternally praised for their experience and talent while everything I try so hard to prove myself is brushed off as just being expected?! "I know, or at least suspect, why you work so hard at any task you are given," Minerva continued, "and I am not blind. I can see your drive, and your desire to prove yourself. Your sisters-"
Catria's grip proved stronger than the wood in her hand as the shaft of the training spear snapped. Minerva paused in surprise, and the two looked at each other for a moment before Catria picked up the fallen half of the weapon, carrying it off the practice grounds. To her surprise, the princess walked beside her, picking up two fresh spears and offering one to the knight. Catria answered the unspoken question with a nod, taking the spear as they returned to their former positions.
A moment passed as they locked eyes again, and then they moved.
Catria's initial thrust was parried, but she moved with her lance, stepping aside to dodge the princess's attempted follow-up. Not willing to let Minerva control the pace of the spar, she started to push the other back. She quickly sank into the kind of sharp focus that came with an intense battle, analyzing her opponent's moves and planning attacks a step ahead. Their weapons clashed time and time again. Minerva moved less than Catria, leaving fewer holes in her defense, but the younger warrior had speed to spare, and a sharp eye for opportunities to strike.
Catria pushed forward, finally forcing Minerva to start moving. Her practice was being put to good use, the countless nights of training in the dark with nothing but the light of the moon and stars to witness her proving their worth. A quick feint with the blunt end of her spear opened up the princess's side for a perfect strike, and-!
Minerva's training spear was thrust under Catria's ribs, and she hunched over. She knew what had happened in an instant. She had overextended, and in trying to take advantage of her opponent's weakness had opened herself up for a short-range blow that would have spelled her doom had they been using live steel.
"...I yield." It was the first time either of them had spoken since Catria broke the lance she had been using before, and it broke the spell of silence that seemed to have overtaken both. Minerva pulled the spear back, offering her hand to the younger woman, and after a moment she took it.
"Your sisters love you, Catria," Minerva told her, "and they have their own ways of showing it. If those ways are not clear to you, you should make that clear to them. Keep that in mind, all right?" And with that, she left, placing the training spear back in its rack and leaving Catria to ponder her words.
After a week and a half, we finally reached the shores of Macedon. Silque was first off the boat, and if she wasn't so tired I swear she would have kissed the ground after we made our way off the docks. Kamui and I followed at a more sedate pace.
"So, what now?" Kamui asked me once we had gotten some different food and supplies. I frowned a bit, trying to remember what little I knew about Archanea at this time.
"Well, our safest bet is getting the hell away from Dolhr, we're way too close for comfort and they're slightly trying to take over the continent," I began. Kamui thought for a moment, then looked back at me.
"Slight issue, we landed in Macedon instead of Grust like we were supposed to. We're gonna have to go either by or through Dolhr to get anywhere else in Archanea, though," he pointed out. "Plus, we don't have a plan for getting back to Valentia yet." Silque didn't seem to be listening to us. She was just smiling with her eyes closed. Probably enjoying being able to eat something without throwing it back up. Oh, right, plans.
"I think there's a port up in the northwest, close to Thabes," I responded. "And if we stick to Macedonian territory for as long as we can, we'll have less of Dolhr to deal with." Kamui aahed in understanding. "So, we'll go along Macedon, make a quick jaunt across the channel, and work our way northwest from there." It was a solid plan in my mind, and Kamui seemed to agree. Silque probably would have agreed if she was paying any attention. "Sound good?" The others nodded, and I smiled. "Now then! Let's get moving, shall we?"
"There 'e is," the boss muttered. The grey wyvern was sleeping in its nest, curled up atop a bed of dried grass in the shade of a shelf of rock. "Our next target."
"Big one, in'e?" One of the other bandits commented. Another responded, "Big hide to sell, 's all that means."
"Better hope those whitewags don't get on our case," a man further back said, getting a response of a few rolled eyes and one "Ah, shut up, Clyde."
"Quiet, all of ya. It's time to make our move."
It was a bit past noon on our second day in Macedon when Kamui pulled Silque and I down behind a boulder, quickly shushing us. "Bandits," he whispered, and I facepalmed as quietly as I could. Of course there were bandits, why wouldn't there be? It's not Archanea if you don't start a trip by running into bandits.
After a few moments, Kamui peeked up over the boulder, then motioned for me to follow. Making myself as hard to see as I could, which was a bit difficult with the halberd on my back, I looked over and saw the bandits Kamui was talking about. It was a surprisingly large group, too, and they were going towards-
"Is that a wyvern?" I muttered, and Kamui shot a glare at me with a finger pressed against his lips. It was big, grey scales covered with old scratches and nicks from past battles, but a lack of major injuries implied it was either very good at avoiding big fights… or even better at winning them. That, and it was also very clearly a fucking dragon.
One of the bandits tried to hurl his axe at it, but the idiot's weapon hit handle-first and the wyvern's reptilian eyes shot open. It uncurled, standing up and spreading its wings, and it roared. I could feel the ground shake, and we weren't even in the clearing with the bandits and the now very awake, very angry wyvern.
One of them called out, "You know what to do, boys!" and they spread out, readying spears and axes. What were they doing, trying to kill it?
My question was immediately answered when one of them sank a spear into the wyvern's leg. It let out another roar, higher pitched and sharper, and I decided in that moment, fuck it.
I vaulted over the boulder, pulling my halberd off of my back before Kamui could grab it and pull me back behind cover, and ran towards the fight.
They heard the roar while Est was in the middle of trying to tell a joke, and Catria was almost thankful for the interruption. Glancing to her sisters, Catria pointed in the direction of the sound and they nodded. Readying her spear, she pressed her legs into Altair's sides and flew towards the disturbance. Palla and Est were still pulling on the reins of their pegasi, but Catria and Altair were close enough that they didn't need reins.
Another roar soon rang out, this one clearly pained, and Catria almost smiled, knowing what it meant. Her enemies had brought themselves right into her hands. She raised her spear as she pushed Altair into a dive, moving towards a clearing quickly. She could see more clearly as she approached, spying a grey wyvern and the familiar wear of common bandits. The bandits were attacking the dragon, and now she knew she was right. It was time to show her skill!
Letting out a war cry, she went straight for the biggest bandit, her spear piercing his side with ease, and now her smile was open and menacing. These bandits wouldn't know what hit them.
Unbeknownst to her, off to the side, another bandit fell to the ground as Isaac pulled his halberd out of the man's back. When he heard the cry, he looked up, and then stared as the most beautiful woman he had ever seen flew down from the skies atop a pegasus and thrust a spear into the bandit who'd been shouting orders.
He could see blue hair, like the deep ocean. A beautiful face, with the wild grin of a warrior. A white-gold emblem shone in the sun, displayed proudly on her shoulder pauldrons, and her lithe body flexed smoothly and gracefully as she started to tear through the wyvern hunters.
And Isaac thought, holy shit, I'm in love.