Somnium ch1-9

by kalseru02

A story about two Kingdoms, and dark Magic.

1. 1-4

[bicu]Chapter 1. Becoming a knight

[icu]One hundred years later

[ci]Just one hundred years later from the incident, Lumine found himself walking through the densely packed forest. He watched the dark grey sky illuminate with thunder. It was starting to sprinkle and he was out in the middle of the woods, without any sort of shelter. He had looked for caves for the past few days but he never found one. Well, he did find a few but they were already inhabited. That is why he was wounded. There was no voices, no civilization, nothing. Just the stillness of the rainy weather, the sound of the thunder, and his slow, weary steps. It had only been one month and he couldn't even take care of himself. He was going to die soon, he knew it. Lumi felt pathetic, ever since Jessica took him in, he had relied on her. Now he was alone again. Back in the elements. The thunder crackled in the sky with a bright flash. He heard a faint voice, and turned his head to see where it was coming from. It was only one voice he heard but one was better then none. He charged towards the voice, hoping that they could offer him some sort of assistance. As lumi neared the voice, it got louder and louder. Then.. he suddenly remembered something. He was extremely exhausted. He hadn't slept in over forty eight hours and his body was giving in quite quickly. As he got into view, the 'person' appeared a yellow blur. Lum slowly slumped down and fell to the ground with a loud THUD.

[ic]A Jolteon stood on two legs with his bow aimed at the umbreon. He quickly put the bow up and ran over to Luminescence once he saw what happened. The jolteon lifted the umbreon and began his trek back towards a castle in the far distance.

[iuc]Thirty-Six hours later. 7:20 AM

[ic]The Umbreon woke up in a bed. He was in a freezing room. It was dimly lit. He still felt very weak, and frail. The umbreon pushed the covers off of him. A wave of cold air brushed upon him. He took a step out of the bed and immediately fell against the floor with a hard bang. He struggled to lift himself with his legs, slowly propelling himself off the ground. Pain shot through his arms but he didn't care. As he stood up he began to limp towards the door of the room. Suddenly, a click was heard and it opened. From across the room, he spotted someone walking in. A jolteon. He had black paws and a quiver wrapped around his back, followed by the bow he was holding. He gave lum a curious look before turning away.

[ic]"You can stand?"

[ic]"What?" asked lum. "Of course I can..why couldn't I?? Who are you, where am I, what-"

[ic]The Jolteon motioned for him to be quiet. Lumi obeyed.

[ic]"You must be new to Ezaneian Kingdom. I'm Ryuku, a knight here. The reason I questioned your stability is because of your injuries. I'm honestly surprised your alive. I'm surprised you managed to walk with them in the first place. You should be dead on the spot. You're a lucky one."

[ic]"Hold on, did you..did you say Ezaneian Kingdom?! I've heard of that place. It's just a rumor though. These old places don't exist. Where am I, really?"

[ic]"..Take a look out the window." Ryuku said with complete calmness in his voice.

[ic]Lum did so, he walked right over to the window and pushed the blinds aside. He let out a gasp as he realized where he was. Ezaneian Kingdom. The stone walls, Kingdom's plaza, the the tallest towers, and the distant castle gates were able to give it away.

[ic]"It isn't just a legend. It's reality. We've prospered here for ages. I welcome you..er..Umbreon to the Kingdom of Ezaneian."

[ic]".. It's.." the Umbreon looked over to the Jolteon. "It's Luminescence. Lumi for short. It's nice to meet you Ryuku. Thank you, you saved my life."

[ic]The Jolteon nodded and turned away. He let out a sigh, begining to walk out of the room, but he stopped when he heard Lum shout "Wait!"

[ic]"Wait. Please." lum said, limping over towards the Jolteon. He stopped right in front of Ryuku.

[ic]"You said you're a knight, right? H..How does a person get recruited as a knight?"

[ic]"You want to become a knight? You just got here. You're still heavily wounded and.."

[ic]"Please. I've always wanted to be a knight. Ever since I heard the rumors about this place. I always imagined what it would be like. Then I did some research on knights and found out what you all do. You go on patrols, special missions for the Queen or king, and even sometimes, help transport goods to the other kingdoms."

[ic]'I wonder if Ezaneian isn't the only kingdom..' lumi suddenly thought before snapping back to reality to listen to Ryuku.

[ic]"..Okay. Alright, I get it. Wait until I come back, I've got business to do. I'll escort you to the training grounds. We'll start practice there, if your able to that is.. I'll be back at around.. 5:27 PM. Until then, Go do whatever in town. Hang out with people, make friends.. Just don't cause any trouble. Got it?"

[ic]lumi slowly nodded his head at the jolteon who turned and left. The Umbreon exited shortly afterwards. He walked outside into the castle plaza. There was so many people. He walked towards the center of the plaza and sat at a water fountain. Lum looked at his reflection in the water. He started doing it again, his thinking. He would always overthink situations and predict the future. He always predicted it incorrectly, but that didn't stop him from continuing to do it. What if he couldn't become a knight? What if Ryuku got hurt on patrol? What if there was a massive attack on the kingdom?

[ic]Meanwhile in another kingdom. Past the mountains, rested Inailum kingdom. It was the kingdom that cooperated with Ezaneian Kingdom. The princess that was supposed to become queen was a beautiful, young girl. Her name was Elvira. Elvira wasn't a Pokémon, but some other mystical creature. The same applied for her deceased mother and her father. Her mother had died from giving birth to Elvira, and her father, Anpu, blamed her for it.

[ic]Elvira left her home and headed outside to start her day. As she walked into the castle's plaza, she could see more clearly many citizens she never knew. She didn't get a good look from her home. Random people and townsfolk would gather around to chat and conversate with each other. Hesitantly, she discreetly made her way outside of the castle and walked towards the beautiful woods west of the castle. She brought her book with her and prepared to continue her study on magic. She made her way deep into the forest, the pretty scenery enveloped her. Soon Elvira reached the spot she normally came to do her magic study in. She flipped open the book and prepared to read. As of now she was studying simple spells like levitation. She'd smile as she was finally alone, left to the silence of the leafs blowing in the wind and the birds. That was quickly taken away though, as Elvira jumped up in shock when she felt someone tap her shoulder.

[ic]"S-sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you."

[ci]spoke a girl who looked unique and alike Elvira herself. "I saw you studying magic out here. I wanted to join in with you.. I usually come out here alone as well but seeing someone else is.. kind of interesting."

[ic]"..I-I'm..Elvira.. Who.. are you?" she asked.

[ic]"I'm Amora. It's nice to meet you Elvira.

[ci]Say, aren't you the king's daughter? That's amazing! Out of all the people, I never expected to meet you here."

[ic]"Thank you.." Elvira said with a light blush, she felt herself become more calm, Amora strangely made her at ease.

[ic]"I..could say the same. It is also a pleasure to meet you Amora. You want to study magic together? I did need someone to practice my levitation with."

[ic]"yes!" Amora shouted.

[ic]She blushed and shook her head. "Sorry, I mean..Yes. But maybe you should try something a little lighter then me. Levitation is extremely difficult, despite being one of the starting spells. You have to calculate the weight, density, mass, and volume of an object first, all while thinking about nothing else but lifting the object. Holding the object.. Keeping a grip on it as well."

[ic]"Oh.. That does sound kind of complicated.

[ic]Well let's start with something simple then. How about.. our books? They're fairly light..and might be good for practice."

[ic]"That sounds like a lovely idea! Go for it Elvira." Amora cheered her on. It was Elvira's first time practicing such magic. She closed her eyes and began to focus on the book. All of it's properties, it's composition, everything. It didn't even lift, the only thing that happened was Elvira being left panting from the attempt.

[ic]"Elvira? Is everything alright?" asked Amora, standing up to see if she was having trouble breathing.

[ic]"Y-yeah.. I'm fine. It's just.. difficult. That's a beginners spell? I'm, really worried about the more complex spells then.."

[ic]"Yeah, I can barely perform these as well. We just have to keep practicing. I know we can do it Elvira!"

[ic]"Right.." she said, still breathing a bit hard. She laughed quietly.

[ic]"I guess this makes you my first friend?"

[ic]"First?" Amora asked, confused

[ic]"Princess Elvira, I'm pretty sure you have more then just me as a friend.. Don't lie."

[ic]"No, I'm serious Amora. I'm not really permitted to leave the castle without a guard with me. I always sneak out though. If I tried to make friends with a guard around, it..would just be awkward. Oh and.. The plaza is too crowded. I'm too nervous to make friends in such a public place."

[ic]"I see what you mean. I always heard living as royalty can be annoying. I'm not a queen or a princess though so I'm unsure."

[ic]"Sometimes it's fun. It has it's benefits. Nobody ever picks on me because they're scared of my dad."

[ic]"The king?" Amora asked.

[ic]"I would be too. He seems very strict and uptight."

[IC]"He's alright. I love him. Despite how limiting he can be sometimes."

[ic]8:37 PM

[IC]Lum was waiting in the plaza for Ryuku to get back from his patrol. He had been waiting all day infact. Ryuku was late. He hoped that the Jolteon would show up soon. It wasn't long, as thirty minutes later he appeared. Ryuku slowly made his way over to lumi, still welding that bow.

[ic]"Hey!" lum yelled, standing up to immediately be face to face with the Jolteon.

[ic]"You're finally back. Can I start my training now Ryuku?"

[ic]"...Sorry I was late. I got caught up in a fight between two idiots on the way back here. Yes actually, just follow me. I'll lead you to the training grounds."

[ic]Ryuku motioned for lum to follow him from behind and so the Umbreon did. He followed the Jolteon towards the training grounds where two guards were stationed. They let Luminescence pass as he had Ryuku with him, a.k.a. an escort. As the two entered the training grounds.. Lum felt genuinely nervous. He was fine with being here at Ezaneian, excited. Becoming a knight though, scared him. He always wanted to be one and now that it was finally happening.. He worried he would not be good enough and that he couldn't become a knight. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted with a loud groan that came from the Jolteon, followed by his calm and tired voice.

[ic]"Ok.." Ryuku started. "We have an extremely large amount of work to do. First things up is bipedealism. You walk on four legs now but that needs to change. In order to be a knight, you must wield a bow, or a sword. There are a few other options as well but these are the simplest, two most convenient weapons. You should get used to these first before trying anything else. You can't use these weapons by simply standing on four legs and gripping with you teeth. You must learn to walk on two paws and use the other two to hold the weapon. Now we must work on your balance and bipedealism."

[ci]"Right, I figured that much. One, because of your bipedealism and the weapon you're carrying. Two, I've read about knights using blades, and bows, maces, and battle axes."

[ic]The Umbreon gave the jolteon a nervous look. He sat down and raised his front paws into the air. His ears lowered slightly, as he felt embarrassed, a blush appeared across his face as he struggled and propelled his other two legs upwards so that he was standing bipedally. He struggled to keep his balance before he collapsed backwards onto his back, causing him to yelp from the impact.

[ic]"Are you alright?" Ryuku asked calmly, shaking his head.

[ic]"I-I'm fine.. It just surprised me is all.."

[ic]The Umbreon let out small, embarrassed laughs.

[ic]"Be serious about this. Stand up and do it again." the jolteon hissed, continuing to observe him.

[ic]Lum sighed and stood up onto his four legs. He sat down, crouching almost and raised his two front paws into the air once more, before lunging up onto his hind legs. He struggled to keep his balance and seemingly did until he fell again. Forwards this time, he felt himself falling. Thankfully he didn't hit the ground though. The blush reappeared on his face, redder then before as he looked up to see the Jolteon who caught him. Ryuku had grabbed lum's paws and pushed him back, while keeping hold. The Umbreon struggled to stand, he would have fell had Ryuku not helped hold him.

[ic]"Focus completely on balance. Spread your paws out enough so you can stand on two legs without falling again, and concentrate on this and this only. Three-two-one.."

[ic]"What? No, don't let me fall!" lumi shouted.

[ic]He pulled his paws back to himself as the jolteon let go. The Umbreon let out a scream as he stood, his eyes closed shut. He slowly opened them as he didn't feel the impact, as he did so he struggled to hold his balance. Lumi slowly began to stabilize himself though. Soon he was standing bipedally, without wobble. It took a minute or two though.

[ic]"..You got that down pretty fast.. Faster then me actually. Next up is using a weapon. This part isn't so easy either, holding a blade or bow with two paws. Which do you want exactly?"

[ic]"..Give me a sword please" lum asked, watching as the jolteon handed him a blade. Ryuku had brought both an extra bow and sword for lumi. Luminescence grabbed the sword with two paws and held it tightly to his chest as he nearly dropped it right there and then.

[ic]"Difficult isn't it..? Just keep that grip. Use your claws to hold it more steadily and focus on it. Think about nothing else.. Just the blade and it's properties."

[ci]Lumi listened carefully to the Jolteon. He followed Ryuku's advice and carefully lifted the blade upwards, using his claws to keep it in a tight grip. Soon enough he left his claws relax and he held it in two paws, upwards towards ryuku.

[ci]"You're a very fast learner. I'm honestly surprised. What are you? Some kind of hero in a story or? It took me weeks to get that down. Regardless, You just need to work on your reflexes now. Your speed and agility, and your strength. Luckily..I have someone to help you with that. I will sit here and observe as I am right now. The person over there will be sparring with you."

[ic]The Jolteon pointed to someone in the distance. As lumine turned his head to see who it was, the umbreon fell backwards onto his rump trying to back up. A Vaporeon had ran at him, wielding a blue trident. When the Umbreon fell backwards, he looked up to see the Vaporeon. A tall vap loomed over him. Lumi gripped his sword.

[ic]The vaporeon started laughing and offered a paw towards the umbreon. Lum seemed a bit confused by this.. He used his free paw to grab the Vaporeon's paw. The Vaporeon lifted him onto his two paws, and gave the breon a smile.

[ic]"Hello there! You must be Luminescence. I'm Aaron, one of the knights of this kingdom. It's nice to meet you."

[ci]"Aaron?.. Wait how long were you standing over there?... And.. Wait you already know me?"

[IC]"...Not long." The vap shrugged unconvincingly.

[ic]"Ryuku told me about you earlier. As he said just a moment ago, I will be helping you practice. Ready for a sparring match Lum?" Asked the Vaporeon, brandishing his trident with a devilish smile.

[ic]The Umbreon walked backwards, practicing with that for only a brief few seconds. Walking backwards on two legs felt very weird but it would be something he had to get used to, for combat. He raised the sword in two paws and nodded at the vaporeon.

[ic]"Come on then!" Lum yelled, sharing the same smile.

[IC]Aaron gripped the trident in his paws tightly. He took one small step, and then started running at the umbreon. Lumi jumped backwards as the trident just scraped him, nearly loosing his footing. Lumie began to hold the sword with only one paw now. It would probably be easier anyways, it was a one handed sword after all. He raised the sword into the air and swung it down towards Aaron, only for their weapons to clash together. The Umbreon had a diffucult time holding himself up straight. Aaron was a lot tougher then he looked. The Vaporeon raised his leg into the air and kicked the umbreon hard, causing him to collide with the ground and fly backwards. Lum stood up struggling on four paws, before lifting himself back up in the air. He ran towards Aaron, threatening to bring his sword down on top of him. As he neared, Aaron would again block their blades. Lum used his free paw to throw a punch at the vaporeon. Aaron spotted this and uppercut Lum, before using his trident to block his punch. As lum's paw collided with the trident, He let out a yelp and dropped his blade, holding his paw in pain. He turned his eyes to see Aaron, only be kicked downwards. "Wait- Stop!" the umbreon shouted. Aaron raised his weapon into the air and brought it down onto the umbreon. Right before the trident collided with lum, it burst into water.

[ic]Lum had a mixture of confusion and embarrassment on his face. The vaporeon started laughing and the water reformed into the trident near them. Aaron walked over and picked it up.

[ci]"What?" Aaron asked, laughing.

[ic]"Tired?"

[ic]Lum stood up and gripped his sword

[ic]"Aaron, one more time."

[ic]"Again?" the vaporeon asked, tilting his head at the vaporeon.

[ic]"It's completely fine if you want to rest for the day. I've had plenty of other knights fail against me on their first day."

[ci]Lumi didn't listen. He began charging at the vaporeon. Aaron smiled and slowly raised his trident into a fighting position.

[ic]"Alright then, show me what you've got."

[ic]Lumi clashed his blade against the vaporeon's trident. Annoyed by this, he raised his sword again and slammed it down again, and again in quick swift manners before Aaron's guard was broken, and he jumped backwards to gain some distance. Aaron let out a sigh, and looked up to only see the umbreon gaining on him again. He raised the trident in the air and threw it at lumine. It hit the ground infront of lum, where he was running. The trident suddenly burst into water again, catching him off guard. Lumi tried to wipe the water from his eyes but stopped when he heard the stomping of pawsteps right behind him. Lumi raised his leg and quickly turned around, slamming his leg into the Vaporeon's chest. Aaron skid backwards on the ground before flipping backwards back onto his two paws.

[ic]"Well that's certainly better. But I hope you know this means I won't be going easy on you anymore..!"

[ic]"Don't hold back."

[ic]Lum turned to greet the vaporeon already infront of him. The umbreon got ready and swung his leg at the vaporeon, Aaron sidestepped quickly around to lum's blind spot, before slamming the trident hard into his back. A loud ear piercing sound rang around him as he suddenly went dizzy. Lumi shook his head to try and formalize his surroundings. He needed to get some distance, that much was clear. Lumi sprinted away to gain distance only to see a large blue blur cross his path, directly infront of him. Slowly the ringing would leave him, and he could hear normally again, his vision cleared slowly. Aaron raised his trident to swing down onto lum, for a final blow. It'd knock the umbreon out cold for a good while.

[ic]"Stop, Aaron." ryuku spoke, walking over towards the two.. Lum's vision finally cleared fully and he could see both Ryuku and Aaron infront of him.

[ic]"Both of you were good. Lumi was able to keep up with you for a short while unlike the other knights who've trained here. You might be worth something umbreon. I'll see you to the castle. Your an official knight now as I deem you worthy. You will be staying in the castle now. I'll also have someone tend to your injuries."

[ci]"Alright" aaron nodded. He raised his paw into the air and smiled at the Umbreon.

[ic]"Dude, you were awesome! High three!"

[ci]Lumi raised his paw into the air and high-three'd the Vaporeon. Lum slowly smiled as well. The vaporeon was strong. He was a little mad though as his back hurt like hell from the trident hitting him so hard. Lum and Aaron slowly followed Ryuku out of the training grounds.

[bciu]Chapter 2. short reunion

[icu]One hour later

[ic]Lum sat in his new bedroom. He was on the bed, looking towards the closed windows as the Jolteon wrapped up his broken paw.

[ic]"First day in training and you've already broken something. Maybe your strength comes from your recklessness. At least it wasn't your fighting paw. You can still use a sword."

[ic]"..When Aaron blocked my punch with his trident, I must've really hit it hard. Enough to break it. It hurt like hell.."hi

[ic]"You'll be getting hurt more then just a broken paw in the future. Don't worry about it."

[ic]The jolteon finished wrapping lum's paw and stood up to leave, heading towards the door.

[ic]"You know the drill. Don't use that paw for anything. It needs to heal. And.. you should probably get some rest anyways. Y'know for your back."

[ci]"How's Aaron holding up during this?" lum asked, standing up from the bed.

[ic]"He's fine. He's gone through much worse so this is nothing for him. Anyways, you should probably get some rest."

[ic]"..N- No.. I think I'm fine. I'm gonna go explore around town. I'll be fine."

[ic]Ryuku didn't even try to stop him. He walked out after he finished bandaging lum's paw. The umbreon walked out of his room and into town. He wanted to meet people. To make some friends. He began walking into the castle's plaza, looking around for anyone he could conversate with. Then he spotted in the distance, a small leafeon struggling to lift some fertilizer. He slowly walked over and stood by for a moment before asking..

[ic]"Need some help?"

[ic]She turned her head to see the umbreon before nodding.

[ic]"Yes please, I need to get this fertilizer to the castle's gardens but I've never been good at lifting the stuff."

[ic]The umbreon walked over and crouched down, struggling for a moment before lifting it with his arms. No doubt, it was pretty heavy. He nodded at the leafeon.

[ic]"Please lead me to the gardens."

[ic]The leafeon nodded in agreement. She led the way infront of him. They walked towards the castle. As they entered, they went out of a door on the right side of the large building. It led out into acres and acres of nothing but beautiful flowers. Lum dropped the bag onto the ground as she told him to.

[ic]"Woah.. You take care of these? All of these??"

[ic]".. yeah. It's quite a hassle. But it's worth it in the end. Thank you for helping me carry these mr.."

[ic]"It's Luminescence, and you don't have to be formal.. What's your name?"

[ic]"I'm Spring" she said, walking over to the fertilizer and opening the bag.

[ic]"I take care of the castle's garden as Sombra has hired me to do so."

[ic]"I'm a knight. Well, A beginner knight anyways.. Pardon me but.. Who's Sombra?"

[ci]"You don't know? He's the king. King Sombra. If you're a knight, shouldn't you have met him by now?"

[ic]"I haven't, unfortunately."

[ic]"You did say your a beginner knight. You'll probably meet him soon."

[ci]"I was just.. trying to make new friends and I saw that you needed help."

[ic]"Well I'm kind of busy today.. y'know with the garden and all. Tomorrow, if your not busy with whatever it is you guards do, come see me. I'll be at the café."

[ic]".. Which Café..?"

[ic]"The only one in town? I'll wait outside for you if it's that hard to find.."

[ic]"Ah..Okay. Sounds fun Spring. I'll leave you to it then. Bye." the Umbreon waved at the leafeon who waved back.

[ic]Luminescence walked out of the garden and back into the castle. He headed into his room and dropped onto the bed to try and get some sleep.

[iuc]Meanwhile in Inailum kingdom..

[ic]Elvira was just getting back into the castle's marketplace. She walked slowly into the plaza and towards the castle. Her heart raced as she began to run, until she entered the large castle. As she walked inside, she spotted her father walking over to her. Anpu, the king of Inailum Kingdom.

[ci]"You're late getting home dear Elvira.." said her father. I told you to be home by Seven. Where were you?"

[ic]"I-I'm sorry! I just got really busy with a friend.. We were doing some magic study and.."

[ic]"And.. A knight told me he had seen you leaving the castle. Without... An escort. Care to tell me why you did this?"

[ic]"..I- I.." she stumbled with her words, trying desperately to come up with a good explanation. As she was unable to, Anpu shook his head.

[ic]Anpu slammed his claws into her eye, and pulled away, leaving blood dripping from her face, and his claws onto the floor. He turned away.

[ic]"Clean that up, go take a bath, and head to bed. Or else." he snarled, storming off into the darkness of the castle, presumably to his room to go to bed. She wiped the tears and blood from her face as she got supplies from the kitchen and cleaned up the blood. She headed to bathe, and then to bed without anything to eat.

[ciu]One day later. 11:12 AM

[ci]Lumine woke up and pushed the covers off of him slowly. He leaned up from the bed and yawned. Lumi stood up and walked out of his room. He headed into the marketplace to try and find someone to chat with. In the distance he could spot someone waving to him. The umbreon slowly walked over to the creature, a leafeon. Spring. She was indeed standing by a large building, the cafe.

[ic]"You're up early.." lum said, in a groggy voice.

[ic]"I could say the same, Lum. You sound exhausted." spring led him inside and they both took a seat at a table.

[ic]"You feeling alright?"

[ic]"I'm fine. I just had..a bad dream."

[ic]"Nightmares? Sorry to hear that.. I use to have them all the time when I was just a little vee."

[ic]"Heh.. I still have them pretty frequently."

[ic]Spring ordered for the both of them. Lumi would've been annoyed by her choosing for him, but he honestly didn't care. He just wanted something to eat, anything that'd give him some sort of energy. He watched as their waiter left, and spring leaned back in her chair.

[ci]"Spring.. Thank you. You didn't have to do this you know-"

[ic]"Oh it's really no problem at all. You helped me the other day, I might as well return the favor."

[ic]"Thank you really." he smiled, blushing a bit.

[ic]"Of course. Anything for a friend." she blushed slightly.

[ci]"Sorry." lumine laughed. "I'm not very good at conversation."

[ic]The food quickly came and they both began eating. Both were very polite and had respectable table manners.

[ic]"Well it's nice to know that I'm not alone.." Spring said with a slight hint of cheeriness in her voice.

[icu]Jumping back to Inailum kingdom..

[ic]"What happened to you?? Are you okay?!" Asked Amora, noticing the large scar across Elvira's eye. She faintly smiled at Amora and shook her head.

[ic]"N-no I'm fine!!.. I just..tripped and hit the edge of a table.. I'll be fine, don't worry about me.."

[ic]Amora gave Elvira a skeptical look.

[ic]"If anything is going on you can tell me. We're friends, I'm always here to listen..

[ic]"Changing topics.. Are you up for some magic training Amora?" Elvira asked, gripping her book tightly to her chest.

[ic]"Y-yeah sure.. In our usual spot in the woods right?" she turned to began walking but stopped when she heard Elvira shout "no!"

[ic]"I- I mean..No.. I'm.. It's going to rain soon. I really don't want to get my fur wet so, maybe we can head somewhere else? Maybe the library in the castle?"

[ic]"Oh.. Yeah.. okay. Let's go Elvira..!" she said ecstatically. Elvira let out a relieved sigh and led Amora to the library in the castle. As they entered, they sat at a table in the back. Elvira opened her book, and prepared to start her training.

[ic]"Same training as yesterday Amora. We'll practice again with levitation magic."

[IC]"Right." Amora said, closing her own book of magic and sitting it down. "Focus, Elvira. Focus on your magic, and lifting the object."

[ic]Elvira didn't say anything but she followed Amora's orders. Elvira was a much slower learner, and had trouble picking up on magic. It was slow progress but it was there. Elvira slowly lifted the object, clearly struggling. She could, once more, barely get it an inch off the table before she grew tired and dropped the book.

[ic]"Well.." she said in a somewhat unenthusiastic, and tired tone, forcing a smile. "Your turn."

[ic]"Of course.." Amora said, feeling a bit nervous. She hadn't noticed Elvira's gloomy expression. Amora had been caught up in her own thoughts lately. Of course she had to be there for her friend. She let out a sigh, cleared her mind, and closed her eyes. Amora then tried to perform the levitation magic. She struggled for just a moment before the book was lifted to face level. Amora opened her eyes to see if she actually did it or not, she didn't hear the book fall. Amora quietly and carefully sat the book back down and gave Elvira a somewhat pitiful smile. Elvira hated that look, it stung her to be looked at like that. Elvira shook her head slowly, and nodded.

[ic]"G-good job Amora! You're going to be an amazing mage in no time." Elvira said, trying her best to clear her thoughts.

[IC]"Thank you, Elvira. I'm sure you'll be an amazing one too. We just need to practice some more and you'll have it down. I'm fine with slowing my studies to help you catch up."

[ic]"Thank you. That'd be nice. Of course, I do hope we'll continue our race to the top when I do catch up to your level of magical capabilities."

[ic]"Of course! For now though let's just help you practice a few more of these basic magic techniques.."

[ciu]Over at Ezaneian (again)

[ic]As time passed, Lumine waved bye yet again to spring before leaving the cafe. He felt, somewhat, more energized then before. Luminescence headed towards the gates but was stopped when he saw Ryuku coming in.

[ic]"Ryuku? you're awake? I figured you'd still be sleeping."

[IC]"I could say the same.." he said in a semi-agitated voice.

[ic]"I was taking care of a few things. Like.. My patrol. Anyways.. How's your paw doing?"

[ic]The Umbreon turned his attention to his broken paw.

[ic]"what do you mean?" he asked. lum tried moving the paw and surprisingly, It wasn't broke anymore.

[ic]"H-huh- How did you-"

[ci]"Simple healing magic.. That's all there is to it."

[ic]"Ryuku, this.. may be a bit forward but..I was wondering if you.. maybe.. you could lead me to the king?" asked lum. Ryuku sighed heavily, clearly annoyed by the umbreon. He walked past Luminescence and muttered.. "It's a bit early..just..follow.."

[ic]The umbreon, excited to finally meet the king, and somewhat curious, followed behind the spiky jolt. He walked towards the castle only to be stopped by two guards.

[ic]"This is an escort" Ryuku spoke up. "To the king. Let us through."

[ic]The guards lowered their weapons and the two were allowed to pass. As they entered, they walked deeper into the castle. luminescence hadn't been in this section. It wasn't long until they entered the throne room..

[ic]There he was, sitting on top of the throne. Lumine looked a bit shocked as he entered the room, his face a mixture of confusion, wonder, and.. Anger.

[ic]"A visitor? Thank you for escorting them, Ryuku." The other Umbreon said, in a familiar voice. He stood up and began walking over to both Lum and Ryuku.

[ic]"Wait a minute. You must be the new knight Ryuku is training, am I correct? It's nice to finally be meeting you. I'm Sombra, though I'm sure he's already told you about me, what is your name?"

[ic]"I'm.."

[ic]"I'm Luminescence. Just.. call me Lumi for short.."

[ic]"Luminescence??" asked the king, with a surprised look on his face. He quickly brushed it off though.

[ic]"Ryuku? Could you kindly leave the room so the both of us can talk in private?" Sombra asked. The jolteon nodded and stepped out quietly.

[ic]"Nocturne?" asked luminescence quietly. He looked up at the umbreon.

[ic]The king stepped closer and enveloped Luminescence in a tight hug.

[ic]"I'm so glad to see that you're alright.." Sombra said, before lum shoved him away.

[ic]"Don't!- Don't touch me." Luminescence hissed.

[ic]His father gave a shocked expression as the umbreon backed away from Sombra.

[ic]"Why are they calling you Sombra? Your real name is Nocturne."

[ic]"It's a shorter term to go by. It's easier for people to address me as Sombra."

[ic]"I somehow doubt that.." lumi muttered.

[ic]Sombra let out a sigh. He nodded at his son.

[ic]If you must know..I changed my name so I could have a fresh start.. As a new person. I've made a lot of mistakes in my past and I've decided to move forwards, to become a better person. This kingdom was even brought fourth by me. A place where people can be safe, and live a serene life."

[ic]"Why did you leave me and Elaina?"

[ci]Immediately as lumi asked that, Sombra cringed hard.

[ic]"We had.. difficulties. I've wanted to stay with you two, really. However a few things got in the way."

[ic]"Like what exactly?"

[ic]"I can't tell you, I'm sorry."

[ci]"So you leave your family for over a decade, and when you finally see them again, you can't even talk to them?"

[ic]"Maybe I will tell you, in time. I'm.. really glad you're here though..Where..Is.. Elaina by the way?"

[ic]"I.. I don't know Nocturne." he shot the king a glare.

[ic]"She was just.. gone one day. Similar to my brother Zero. There was a blood and scent trail that was clearly hers. It quickly faded though as I got further along the trail. She's probably.."

[ic]".. I'm sorry." Sombra said, simply.

[ic]"You are not sorry. You left us to die. Don't even give me that bullshit.."

[ic]"..." Sombra went quiet for a moment.

[ic]"You.. You'll be the new king here soon.. It's a king's job to pass down his role to his kin."

[ic]"..."

[ic]"Being a king isn't only about being good at fighting Luminescence. Sure, you have to fight off the kingdom's threats but you must also tend to everyone's sanity. Make sure everyone here lives in peace, happily, and carefreely."

[ic]"You don't think I know that?.. I've read up a lot on this place but you're the last person I expected to be king.. You are the last person that deserves such a role."

[ic]Sombra smiled faintly at Luminescence, before turning and slowly walking off, towards the exit.

[ic]Lumi watched as Sombra turned to leave.

[ic]"I have business to attend to so I won't be seeing you as often as I'd like. Until we talk again."

[ic]lumi let out a sigh of annoyance as his father, Nocturne left the room.

[icu]Once again, back in Inailum kingdom.. One hour later.

[ic]Elvira was leaving the library by herself now. Amora had decided to stay a bit longer to work on her own magic.

[ci]"Please." ryuku asked, bowing down to anpu.

[ci]"Allow me to spend some time with Elvira. It'll be after hours but I'll bring her back." Ryuku said, in a calm and collected tone. Anpu stared at the jolteon for a moment. He calmly nodded, allowing Ryuku to walk outside and to walk up to princess Elvira.

[ic]"Ok. You can stay out later now that you're with me. I just want to talk for a bit. Please."

[CI]Elvira nodded and pointed to the gates.

[ci]"Let's go to the forests."

[ic]The jolteon nodded and began walking with her outside the castle's walls. She and him had always been friends, since the establishment of both kingdoms. Elvira looked up to Ryuku, Ryuku wanted to be the perfect role model for her as well. As they entered the woods, he immediately brought up the first question, growing somewhat impatient.

[ci]"What happened to your eye Elvira?"

[ic]"I.. tripped and fell." she lied. "I hit a table.."

[ic]"..That scar looks.. It doesn't look like an accident..."

[ci]"I'm- I'm fine, really!.. I really did trip one day, When I was getting up early in the morning, I fell against the table."

[ci]She suddenly turned to look away from the jolteon, making him suspicious.

[CI]"Listen.. if anything's going on, I'm here to help you, you know."

[IC]".. I'm trying to learn about magic.. I was wondering if you could help me?" Elvira asked, trying to change the subject.

[ic]"Elvira.."

[ic]"What?.."

[ic]"..I noticed something. You're a lot more timid then I remember. You also haven't been leaving the castle in some time. I've noticed, Anpu also had a weird behavior lately.. Is.."

[CI]"N-No. my dad would never do something like that. He's really nice, strict, but nice. I strive to be like him sometimes even. There's nothing that needs to be done, I'm really alright!" she said with a nervous laugh. Ryuku could hear it in her voice. Fear and despair. He wouldn't press it any further. Ryuku would take matters into his own paws.

[ic]"Okay. I understand. Sorry for accusing him like that Elvira.."

[ic]"It's fine!!.. Really.."

[ci]"If you say so..How are you and Amora doing together? With your magic studies and all?"

[ic]"She's surpassed me, but she's really nice. Amora offered to slow down so I can catch up. She's..really kind."

[ic]"I'm glad to hear that. It's.. nice to hear you have such a good friend. I'm glad Amora is around to make you smile." Ryuku said, nudging Elvira and giving her a playful look.

[ic]"Yeah..me too.."

[ci]A few hours later, Elvira returned home. She saw Anpu, her dad, waiting for her. She carefully stepped around him. He watched her head to bed before letting out a sigh and heading to bed himself.

[bciu]Chapter 3. beginning

[icu]The next week - 09:23 AM

[icu]In Inailum Kingdom...

[ic]Elvira was walking out in the forest. Ryuku was with her, accompanying as her guard. Ryuku wasn't set to go on a patrol for a good while. He did this regularly, heading to see Elvira. Of course it was much easier with the teleportation spells he had learned from Farren, Without them the journey could last weeks, or even months. He watched her calmly sitting in the flowers. She looked up, watching the clouds move slowly across the skies. Elvira's mind focused on one thing and one thing only: Amora. She hadn't seen Amora all day and usually, Amora would be with Elvira around seven AM. Elvira clutched the book tightly to her chest, before laying it out and flipping it open.

[ic]'Amora will be here soon.' Elvira thought. 'I'll just start without her, hopefully she won't mind..'

[ic]Ryuku glanced over at Elvira and watched the clouds roll by in the sky.

[ic]'Elvira wants to be a mage, huh?.. Magic isn't easy. Even the beginners spells are quite.. diffucult.' he thought.

[ic]Ryuku walked over to her and took a seat next to the future queen. He pointed to a picture in her mage's book, a picture of someone levitating something.

[ci]"Why not start with this one? It's the first spell I ever learned."

[ci]She blushed slightly, in embarrassment.

[ci]"..Thing is.. I've been trying to learn that one for a little while now. No such luck though."

[ci]Ryuku looked at her, thinking for a moment before he reached into his quiver and got an arrow. He sat it on the grass and motioned for her to try and lift it, while calculating it's exact numbers.

[ic]Elvira gave a nervous expression, looking at the arrow. Her embarrassed blush only grew brighter as she closed her eyes and concentrated. Elvira lifted the arrow slowly into the air, focusing all her attention onto lifting it. She slowly opened her eyes and as she did so, it fell to the grass as she let out a cough, and started panting.

[ic]Ryuku gave her a confused expression. Elvira has been training for hours each day with Amora, yet she could barely lift an arrow. Her magic was pathetically weak. Her ears fell downwards as she saw his expression before he shook his head and shouted a "No-!"

[ic]"Y-you're doing fine Elvira. I struggled like this, my first time practicing as well. Magic isn't so easy, so I can understand why.. getting it down .. is so .. hard."

[ic]She held a sad expression, watching him try to encourage her didn't help. She knew he was lying about this, Amora said the exact same thing before. Amora wasn't so good at hiding it though.

[ic]Elvira closed her book. She pulled it back to her chest and quietly let out a sigh.

[ic]"My friend was supposed to be here hours ago. Amora, she usually helps me with my magic but she hasn't shown. I wonder what's keeping her.."

[ic]Ryuku stared intently at Elvira. She didn't look to good. The scar on her eye was healing well, but her fur was all messed up and she did look thinner as well. Too thin for her age. She also looked like she was about to die from the heat.

[ic]"Elvira.. Do you want to go grab something to eat or something? It's getting kind of hot out here, Amora might not even show up.. and you look like you could use something to restore your energy."

[ic]She looked at him for a brief moment, hesitating a bit, before standing up and nodding at him.

[ci]"Y-yeah.. You're probably right. Let's head back. Maybe she's at the castle anyways.."

[ic]Ryuku smiled a bit and nudged her.

[ic]"Where else could she be? Chances are she got caught up or something. I'm sure everything's okay."

[ic]Elvira didn't say anything. She only nodded and walked with him back towards the Inailum Castle. The two walked into the gates and Ryuku led her to one of the restaurants near the marketplace. They both sat at a booth, across from each other and waited to be served. When their waiter came, Ryuku ordered something for the both of them. The whole time, Elvira remained silent until someone walked over to see her.

[ic]Amora sat down beside her.

[ic]"Where have you been?" Elvira asked.

[ic]"What do you mean? I've been in the plaza all day waiting on you."

[ic]"What? But- We agreed to meet up in the forests yesterday.."

[ic]Amora was confused for a moment before she remembered that was the case. She apologized to Elvira only for Elvira to smile faintly at her. When they were talking, Ryuku calmly left to give the friends some privacy. He was needed in Ezaneian Kingdom soon anyways, so he left.

[ci]Elvira sat her book down on the table. She looked over to see Amora reading from her magic book. Elvira let out a tired sigh as she stretched in her seat. The food ryuku ordered for them came and they began to eat, talking and laughing together.

[ic]"So.. you still don't have it down? Even with Ryuku's help?" Amora asked.

[ic]Elvira chuckled, embarrassed

[ic]"Well-- Magic isn't the easiest thing to learn.."

[ic]Amora smiled and laughed quietly to herself.

[ic]"Elvira, Have you forgotten? You'll learn in no time with my help. It'll be a breeze."

[ci]"Amora.."

[icu]11 hours later

[ic]Elvira was in the library, she retrieved a book from the book shelves. It was a giant, dusty, black book with white text on the cover. Crepuscular Magic. Elvira flipped the book open and began to read through it slowly. It was seemingly an exact copy of the book Elvira had but this one was written in some weird foreign language that she.. strangely understood. She didn't know the language yet her mind was able to latch on and read it.

[ic]Nothing much changed after that. Elvira practiced her spells again, this time alone. She succeeded, with very little effort. Tired from her long day, she closed the book, and carried it with her to bed.

[bicu]Chapter 4

[icu]7:29 AM

[ic]Luminescence and Finn were on the training grounds with Ryuku. Aaron was on patrol with Rose. Everything was well and calm in the kingdoms.

[ic]"No, Not like that." Ryuku hissed. "Do it again, and do it properly."

[ic]The jolteon retrieved an arrow, and raised his bow to the umbreon.

[ic]Lumi raised his sword and swung it down at the arrow that flew at him. He sliced it in half, before another, and another. He jumped away from the Jolteon to gain distance as they started barraging at him. He felt a large pain in his backside, causing him to jump away a far distance from the two. Finn had taken advantage of lum focusing only on Ryuku and landed a kick into lum's side.

[ci]This was their daily training, for now anyways. Luminescence's speed was something that desperately needed to be worked on. He still had a lot of training to do.

[ic]Elvira slowly stepped out of her room, letting out a quiet yawn. She.. didn't have the best night. Infact, she had a weird vivid nightmare, about some weird race of dark creatures. Ancient beings that were never meant to see the light of day. Immediately, her first instinct was that it was the book's doing since she could feel a dark energy radiating off of it the second she awoke. She didn't sense this the other night when she first found it. Regardless, she grabbed the book and slowly began walking outside. It was only a dream, She was probably just hallucinating the energy as well since she was tired.

[ic]She headed outside and went to see Amora.

[ic]"Hey Elvira. Ready to start the day? Training our magic and all? We're going to be the best mages." Amora said, gleefully, standing right by the castle's gates.

[ic]"Yeah" Elvira nodded.

[ic]"Ready as I'll ever be." she smiled at Amora, and followed her outside of the castle.

[ciu]Back to Ezaneian Kingdom, 4:59 PM

[ic]"So I'm next in line for the role." Lumi stated.

[ic]"I don't think I'm fit to rule as a king. As a king you have to make decisions. Frequently. Decisions that affect everything and everyone around you. A king's job is to make right decisions for his people, to protect his people, and to ensure their happiness. I know nothing about decision making."

[ic]"You're just a kid, dude. It's perfectly normal to be stressed out about these things. You are my friend though, and I have confidence you'll be a great king." Aaron redponded. Finally back from his patrol, lumine went to talk to him.

[ic]"I just don't understand why Sombra is pushing this on me now. I haven't even been here for a while, just because I'm his son does not mean anything. Nocturne has way too much trust in me. Before any of this happened, he was super strict about everything. Every little thing I did mattered and had a devastating effect on our health. Don't go here don't go there, don't do this and don't do that."

[ic]"It just doesn't seem like him."

[ic]"Well, people change dude. Maybe after what happened, he had a change of heart. Sorry to bring that up though."

[ci]"You're perfectly fine. I'm over it, I know Elaina is gone. I refuse to believe Nocturne changed though. I just hope that everything will be alright. You don't know what it's like Aaron, what if you were going to become king?"

[ci]"Well? I think I'd accept it. My father is trusting me enough to rule an entire Kingdom and to protect the citizens."

[ic]Lumine went silent for a moment.

[ic]"I don't want people to treat me differently, I don't want to meet called King Luminescence, or to have people bowing down to me. As a king, I want to be like everyone else."

[IC]"That's good dude- you already have good motives. You're trustworthy and smart. I know for a fact you're fit to rule."

[ciu]Returning to Inailum Kingdom

[ic]"Princess Elvira. Do you really think I deserve a title like that?" asked Elvira. Her and Amora sat in a flower field out in the woods. Their usual spot.

[ci]"What do you mean?" Asked Amora, genuinely confused by the question.

[ci]"Well, I'm just a little scared on how people look at me. 'Oh there's the Princess, bow, bow!' It's.. Kind of overwhelming."

[ic]"W..why suddenly bring this up now?"

[ic]"I didn't think about it until recently, it'll only get worse when I become Queen. People will treat me significantly differently, as if I was a goddess. That's.. That's not how I want to be seen. I want to be seen like everyone else."

[ic]"I see you as my friend. I'll admit when I first met you, I hesitated talking to you when I saw who you were. But I did so even still, here we are. Talking like a normal pair of friends. Sometimes.."

[ic]Amora laughed nervously.

[ic]"Sometimes, I even forget that you're the princess."

[ic]Elvira smiled for a moment before going back to her usual frown.

[ic]"Thank you for helping me and being patient with me for this long. I know I'm not the best at magic and I'm very slow when it comes to learning it.."

[ic]"..You have it now though! You easily lifted that book with your magic. You're catching on Elvira."

[ic]"Right .." Elvira said, semi sarcastically. Amora, thankfully didn't pick up on it.

[ic]"I'm.. getting better at magic. Hopefully I can become as good as you."

[ic]"With the progress your making? In no time, you'll be as talented, if not more then me. It's like you suddenly gained a lot of knowledge on magic. You've been mastering so many spells today.."

[ic]Elvira blushed, embarrassed. She got up and started walking deeper into the woods.

[ic]Amora watched her curiously, before standing up and following her into the trees. Elvira walked out of the forest through another side and saw a balcony sitting on the edge of the mountain. 'Inailum Castle is on a mountain??' she thought. Looking around, she saw other mountains, higher then this one. Elvira figured that they were on ground level. Amora shared the same shocked expression. Elvira walked up towards the balcony that hung over the edge and looked over the railing. They were definitely a long ways up.

[ci]"Woah- I didn't know Inailum was on top of a mountain!" yelled Amora, who ran over to Elvira and looked over the balcony's edge with her.

[ci]"Yeah. Me neither. We're never really permitted to leave the kingdom and I'm not really allowed to come out this far. But-"

[iC]"It's really serene."

[ic]Elvira leaned her arms onto the railing.

[ic]"This reminds me of.. I don't know why but this reminds me of my mother. I never got to meet mom, but.. there's just something about it. Anpu would probably be mad if he heard me say something like that though. He and mother cared about each other a lot. I feel like he blamed me for her death. She did die during my birth so I can see why."

[ci]"It's not your fault Elvira. I'm sure your mother really wanted to have you. She gave her life so you could be born, to take her place as Queen. She would've wanted you to take her role and to lead people to happiness. Even if it costed her life."

[ic]"Amora.. I.. Thank you, you're.. you're an amazing friend. I'm truly glad I met you."

[ic]"hey.. you're starting to learn magic easier, your scar is getting better.. things are finally looking up huh?"

[ic]Elvira laughed.

[ic]"Yeah..I guess you're right."

[ic]She sat down by Amora and continued to look over the balcony. It was a beautiful view of the land, enormous mountains in the distance and green meadows all around.

[iuc]Later that night. 7:53 PM

[ic]Elvira was walking into the castle gates. She headed into the castle, and to the marketplace. It was seemingly empty, except for two or three people who were chatting near the water fountain. She walked past and towards her home. Elvira made the fatal mistake of showing up to home late.

[icu]Over at Ezaneian Kingdom..

[ic]In the timespan that Elvira and Amora have been having their fun, Luminescence had been hard at work. He'd been training for a while now.

[ic]The umbreon was walking through the castle town, looking around at all the various Pokémon, and.. strangely, weird looking creatures entered. Creatures that weren't pokémon but an entirely different species. For example he saw some hybrids like a dragon and a feline fused. Sometimes, he saw humanoid versions of these creatures. Originally, the kingdom was only for Pokemon, not humans or trainers.. But technically they weren't human, and thankfully not trying to do any harm. Luminescence made his way up to the water fountain in the middle of the town to spot Aaron and a sylveon there talking.

[ic]"H-hey Aaron.. Who's this?" lumi asked, taking a seat next to the two.

[ic]"Oh hey dude!- this is Rose, I'm sure ryuku had already told you about our patrols, right? They're essential so you don't get mixed up and all.."

[ic]"Yeah.. Though I still haven't really went on any yet. Anyways.."

[ic]"Hi Rose!-" lum waved towards the sylveon.

[ic]She waved back with a flirtatious expression.

[ic]"Ryuku is on patrol now, though I don't get how the king expects our Kingdom to be protected with only five knights, and only three are in the condition to go on patrols. Aaron had informed me you'd become the next king. So that must mean, you must be King Sombra's son."

[ic]"Uh.."

[ic]"..yeah." Lumine said, hesitantly. "Though, I'm not sure if I'll be fit to rule as a king."

[ic]Aaron gave him a look.

[ic]"I already told you, it'll be fine."

[ic]"How can you be so sure of that?" Rose asked, before quietly laughing at the umbreon's look of concern.

[ci]"Why would the king choose someone to be the king so fast? Being his son isn't an excuse either Rose, you'd think at least Sombra would've put him through some sort of training." aaron responded in a annoyed tone

[ic]"Maybe you're right." Rose said, scoffing.

[ic]"We'll just have to wait and see. Can we please get back to what we were talking about before he came up?"

[ic]Aaron nodded

[ic]"Lumi, I might as well fill you in. We were discussing the light spirit that resides in the province north from here. A sacred spring lay there with an ancient goddess of light."

[ic]"A 'goddess'?" lum asked, almost laughing at Aaron.

[ci]"You didn't know?" Rose asked.

[ci]"She's guarded Ezaneian and Inailum Kingdom for over a century. She blesses the kingdom every year with peace, and light."

[ci]"That could explain why our knight count is so low" Lum stated.

[ic]"A goddess blessed the kingdom and protects it from dangerous creatures like.. Dragons and monsters from coming in, and destroying everything."

[ic]"but" Aaron started "Knights are still around due to thieves, and exiled citizens. Thieves are all around dude and.. People who've been exiled due to past crimes or treason must be located. If they're anywhere in the kingdom, even in the furthest lands.. They either have to be exiled again with a warning or placed in prison for eternity. There are some rare cases where people are to be executed as well."

[ic]"I, personally don't believe in gods Aaron. But if you and Rose want to go with that story, I understand. I.. When I become king, I want to play it safe. I'll start by improving our guard and knight count. Maybe Inailum Kingdom will be willing to help."

[ic]"Maybe.." aaron muttered

[ic]"Knowing King Anpu, That might be a little bit of a stretch." Rose sneered.

[ic]"King Anpu?" asked lum. "is that the king of Inailum Kingdom?"

[ic]"Why.." rose smirked, crossing her legs and set her head down onto her paw "...of course. We trade with him frequently, goods and such. Crops and all are very imporitant for khhih of our survival. If for some reasokn eitherh of our Kingdom is in danger,ghjwtte g each other with our little support. It's rare though."

[icu]The next day, 2:00 PM

[ic]luminescence stepped out of the castle into the plaza, the bright light nearly blinded him. Lum's first thought was to go see Spring, since they haven't spoken in a while. Today she wouldn't be taking care of the castle's gardens. The Umbreon headed towards the gates and outside of the castle, he walked deep into the forests until he came out to a clearing with tons of bright flowers across the field, and the mountain-scapes in the distance. There sat Spring and.. some other eevee?...

[ic]"Hello Spring!" lumi shouted, running over to the pair.

[ic]She looked over to see the umbreon, before turning her attention back to the flower crown she was making.

[ci]"..Oh, Hey Lumi, haven't seen you in a while."

[ci]"Yeah, I'm really sorry, I've been super busy lately with Ryuku and getting my training done. I'm set to head off for my first patrol tomorrow actually."

[ic]"But I'm free today. Also, who's this?"

[ci]"Oh that's.." Spring was cut off

[ci]"I'm Void. Farren's brother. You're Luminescence right? The-"

[ci]"Yes." lumine said with an annoyed sigh.

[ci]"How did you find out about that anyways?"

[ic]Void blushed, embarrassed

[ic]"Well, I mayyy have overheard you talking to your friends the other day."

[ci]He huffed, before recomposing himself.

[ic]"..and who's Farren?" lumi asked, tilting his head slightly.

[ic]"well.." Spring started.

[ic]"..She's one of the friends I made very recently. She helped me find rarer and more diverse flowers for the gardens."

[ci]"It's nice to hear you made a new friend though." lumie said happily.

[ci]"It's kind of hard to make friends for me too. I have trouble talking to people similar to you. However I have the benefit of already having quite a few friends who've talked to me first. Then I also have friends like you Spring. It's nice to have someone I can relate to."

[ic]"Farren spoke to me first when I was at the library, and from there we were just kind of friends. You should meet her soon."

[ic]Void nodded at the two

[ic]"Fare is a really kind-hearted person. If both of you are friends, you'll love Farren, Luminescence."

[ic]"Yeah I agree" spring said, standing up.

[ic]"Come on, Void, It's going to rain soon."

[ci]Void stood up and followed behind Spring back towards the castle. Luminescence joined them on the travel.

[ic]"Hey so, where is Farren?" lumi asked

[ic]"oh." Spring stopped to think.

[ci]"She's probably at the library, best not to disturb her then. If she isn't there, she could be in the greenwood or at home."

[ci]"The greenwood? What's that?" lumie asked, tilting his head ever so slightly

[ic]"Deep, deep into the woods, the point of where both kingdoms meet in the middle, is the greenwood. Deep into the greenwood, there is a spring that people sometimes travel to, to pray. She could be there."

[ic]Void mentioned:

[ic]"Yeah, Fare likes going there to read sometimes. Chances are she's gone by now though as she's not a huge fan of rain."

[ic]"I see.."

[ic]The three returned to the castle.

[ci]"It's been a while since we've last spoke Lumi. Why don't you join Void and me at the Café for something to eat?"

[ic]"Huh? Oh I-" his ears went down for a moment as he thought about what he would say. He was going to go get some rest, sleep on rainy days was always nice.

[ci]His ears raised up again as he nodded.

[ic]"Yeah. Of course, Let's go."

[ic]Spring and Void both smiled at that answer and the three entered the café. Spring led them over to a booth, and lumi took the seat next to a window. Spring sat next to him and void sat across from them.

[ic]"I'll just get what I had before, Spring" lumine said with a yawn followed afterwards. It seemed as if the second they entered the café, rain started coming down hard outside. Lumi watched out the window as the rain fell down onto the plaza. It was oddly calming.

[ci]"You're Farren's brother right Void?"

[ic]"It's nice to meet you." lumine offered his paw and Void took it.

[ic]"Likewise."

[ic]"Although, I'm her little brother" he mumbled slightly annoyed.

[ic]"Fare is older then me by a year. I'm 19."

[ic]"17. Spring you're-"

[ic]"16.. I'm the youngest one here." she chuckled, feeling a little embarrassed

[ic]"She's a glaceon, very smart for her age. She knows all kinds of spells and magic, and she even has certain abilities that others of her species doesn't." void continued

[ic]"I'm not sure if you noticed but only four people in this kingdom know magic. Sombra the King, Ryuku the royal knight, Aaron the Knight, and Farren the.. The citizen. Magic is not an easy thing to learn."

[ic]"Ever since Ryuku had helped me out with his magic, I kind of wanted to find about and learn about it too. However, I'm not a huge fan of reading so I haven't gotten to it yet. Oh and, I'm kind of busy with being a knight myself so time is limited."

[ic]Spring nodded at lum

[ic]"Farren could probably teach you."

[ic]"If you're her brother, shouldn't you know some magic? Surely she's taught you something." Lumi smirked.

[IC]"Well.. I'm still working on it. Levitation is the first spell magic users have to learn and I can't even lift a toothpick with it..I actually just started learning."

[ic]"That's inconvenient."

[ic]Their food came. They started eating. Lumine ate as well but rather slowly, thinking about what they had said. He was really curious about magic, it was hard to learn sure but it could be useful. Ryuku did say he was a fast learner, maybe he'd be good with magic too.

[ic]Around twenty minutes passed before spring asked.

[ic]"Alright, I think we're leaving. It was nice talking to you Lumine."

[ic]"Yeah." Luminescence smiled at them.

[ic]"See you around guys. I'm gonna stick around for a little while longer."

[ic]"..Huh? Oh, Hey." spring said, greeting the person.

[ic]"Oh, hey Fare." Void waved at his sister

[ic]"Hey guys, just leaving?.." Farren asked, taking a seat in the booth anyways.

[ic]Lumine turned his gaze from the window back to the group as he heard them talking to Farren.

[ic]"Actually yeah..Sorry-I can stay a little while longer if you want."

[ic]"Oh- No it's fine! Go on home, I'll see you tomorrow, Void you can head home as well. I'll see you tomorrow guys."

[ic]She waved at them as they left and turned her attention to the Knight sitting across from her.

[ic]".. I've never seen you around before, who might you be?"

[ic]Lumi sighed in relief. He was getting tired of hearing the same old 'oh you must be Luminescence, the upcoming king' and it was getting on his nerves.

[ci]"I'm.."

[ic]"My name is Luminescence, however you can just call me lumi, lumine, or lumie for short."

[ic]"..Farren, as you heard just now." she smiled a bit

[ic]"Fare for short though, Void calls me that. Glad to meet you Luminescence."

[ci]"You too. Spring and Void actually told me a lot about you. You're apparently really good at magic."

[ic]"Huh?"

[ic]"Well.." Farren blushed, leaning back into her seat.

[ic]"I've been reading a lot up on it, that could explain why. Not a lot of people really care about magic anymore. Most people don't even believe in magic."

[ic]"That could explain why only four people in the entire Kingdom know how to use it."

[ic]"Do you believe in magic Lumi?"

[ic]"I've experienced it. I'm actually a knight here in this Kingdom, Ryuku, a royal knight knows magic and.. Apparently Aaron as well. Aaron is another knight. Ryuku used healing magic to fix my paw."

[ic]"..So you're a knight? That sounds cool, going on patrols and protecting everyone from harm, threats, monsters."

[ic]"I'm actually a really new knight. I don't go on my first patrol until tomorrow. But I actually asked you about magic since you're really good with it. I was hoping you could teach me a few things about magic."

[ic]She thought for a long, good moment before nodding

[ic]"I don't see why not. Sure! However, Maybe not today as it's too late to really start practicing on it. When are you free?*

[ic]"Uh.. Well, Tomorrow potientally? For a little while. Ryuku goes on his patrols around six, and I'm going with. So anywhere below six is good."

[ic]"No Lumi" she shook her head.

[ic]"We need more time, almost all day. We'll be heading out to the greenwoods to practice our Magic. It's a place deep within the forests that surrounds the castle and quite a walk. There, nobody can disturb us. So, when are you free for the entire day?"

[ic]"Well.." lumi started to think again.

[ic]"Saturday, this week we could go."

[ic]"Alright. That's fine with me." Farren smiled

[ic]"I'll be waiting at the gates for you Saturday. You'd better not keep me waiting."

[ic]"You got it, Fare."