Warnings: Angst, violence, language, adventure, lemons, AU, fantasy, angst again.
A/N #1: So, this is me, which means that Trowa and Duo are going to be involved. There will be more pairings, but I'd really rather let them develop than paste them all over this.
A/N #2: The POV will switch between characters – likely MOSTLY between Heero, Duo, and Trowa.
A/N #3: I'm not sure if anyone even reads these things, BUT, if anyone out there does: can I offer/request a challenge/trade? This fic was supposed to be a Tangled/Rapunzel thing, but it was immediately derailed – for the good. However, I really love the idea of a 2x3 Rapunzel fic. So… if anyone out there loves me and wants to write one, I will gladly accept any challenge you want to offer me. Seriously, I will write any GW fic you want me to - AU, canon, 1x2, 3x4, 1xR for that matter (although, seriously, please no?). Anyway… all you writers out there, give it a thought?
A/N #4: The next chapter of Umbra is with my beta... and this was finished... so... yeah, I decided to post it now.
Lost Dreams
Chapter Six
Heero was on the verge of sleep when the door to his chambers banged open.
He had his sword in his hand and was halfway out of the bed before the intruder identified himself.
"I'm not here to murder you in your sleep."
Heero relaxed at the sound of Solo's voice and laid down his sword to pull back the bed curtains.
Solo looked ruffled and more than a little desperate. His hair was tousled, and he was wearing only a fur lined dressing gown. Heero guessed that he had just risen from bed.
"Trouble sleeping?" He asked.
Solo sighed and sat down on the bed, leaning against one of the bed posts.
Heero looked over and saw that Trowa was still asleep – or at least pretending to still be asleep – with his face buried in the pillows and his bare back facing them.
"I keep thinking about my brother," Solo confessed.
Heero eased back onto the bed.
"It was one defeat," he said, thinking that Solo's pride was bruised from the loss in the tournament that afternoon.
Solo snorted a laugh.
"No, it was a lifetime of defeat. And that's not – I have no issue with losing the fight to him. After all, he defeated you as well."
Heero nodded and rubbed the spot on his stomach where Duo had kicked him. It was, he knew, his own fault for hesitating in the first place.
He wondered just what Duo had said to Solo after he had defeated him. The words had left Solo looking stricken, and Duo hadn't materialized at the evening meal hours later.
"There's more to him that you haven't told me," Solo said.
Heero frowned.
"Yes," he agreed after a moment's consideration.
Solo sighed.
"So he's carrying around all of this emotional baggage – you two brilliant conversationalists are the only one's he knows, and now he's consorting with Wufei and Meilin. Those two are as likely to turn him into an anarchist than a proper Theran prince," Solo groused.
"Quatre."
Trowa's voice was muffled by the pillow and rough with sleep.
"What?" Solo asked.
"Send him to Quatre if you're so concerned with him learning how to be a Theran prince."
Solo looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded.
"Good idea."
"I know." Trowa still hadn't moved.
Solo leaned back against the bedpost and sighed.
"He thought I would rescue him, did you know?" The prince closed his eyes and shook his head. Heero had never seen him look so exposed and nearly broken. "He waited for me to find him, all those years. Until…" Solo frowned. "What happened to him five years ago? Why did he give up? You know he won't let the pages dress him?"
He turned to look at Heero.
The soldier shrugged. "He's not used to them."
"Or he doesn't want them to see him naked," Solo suggested.
"So he's modest," Trowa groaned into the pillow, "it's not the end of the world. There's still hope for him losing his virginity."
"Or he doesn't want them to see any scars," Heero mused. "If he was taken before the Inquisition, it stands to reason they tortured him."
Solo looked pained. "I should have done something."
"What could you have done? You were twelve." Heero pointed out.
"My brother needed me. Isn't he the one I've been trained from birth to protect?"
Trowa sighed and finally rolled over.
"You were a child. There was nothing you could have done. He's clearly had a very shitty life, but that is not your fault. Stop focusing on the past. Both of you." He glared at them. "If I can let the past go, the two of you should as well."
Heero bowed his head, accepting the admonishment. Trowa made an excellent point, and he could see Solo nodding reluctantly.
"So we just… move forward?" The prince asked.
"Only place we can move," Trowa agreed. "He'll forgive you. He just needs time."
"And allies," Heero suggested. He had been impressed with Duo's performance yesterday, and he admired the prince for both his victories and the way he had embraced his opponents after each match. Duo clearly had honor, and was a good man.
The fact that Trowa and Heero had brought him to Thera and more or less dumped him on Solo and Gregory and stepped back didn't sit well with Heero. They were the only two people who knew what the boy had just been through, and he was no doubt still grieving for all of those he had buried.
Heero sighed and Trowa groaned.
"No, don't get that look on your face," Trowa warned him.
"What look?" Heero frowned.
"The one where you feel guilty and want to save the world."
"He might not like us, but I think he trusts us more than anyone else in Thera," Heero said. "He needs allies. He needs to be forced out of his isolation. And we are the ones who found him."
"For which we should be rewarded, and not punished," Trowa growled.
Solo smiled slightly.
"Are you suggesting that spending time with my little brother is a punishment?"
"Yes," Trowa said. "The boy is – impossible."
"And the two of you aren't?" Solo asked.
Heero frowned.
"We've earned the right," Trowa said. "And he – damn it all. Fine. We'll befriend him. We'll be his allies."
Solo looked triumphant, but more importantly, he looked more at ease than he had when he had first entered the room.
"Thank you," Solo said. "I – I wish I could do more for him."
"He just needs time," Trowa said, finally sitting up and looking Solo in the eye. "By spring the two of you will no doubt be disgustingly chummy."
Solo chuckled.
"One can only hope." He shook his head. "What are the two of you even doing awake? At this hour you should be sleeping."
"We were," Trowa growled.
Solo stood up.
"Thank you," he said to both of them before leaving the room.
Heero lay back down, amused when Trowa immediately buried himself back under the blankets.
He didn't know how they were going to become Duo's allies, but he knew it was the right decision.
Mission accepted, he tried to sleep.
By the time Heero tracked down Trowa the next morning he had developed a plan. He didn't think that winning Duo's complete trust would be easy, or quick, but he was fairly confident that he knew how to at least break down some of the barriers the prince had erected between himself and the rest of the court.
He found Trowa in the Royal stables, tending to Heavyarms.
"We should take him to the temple of the God of Death," he said.
Trowa looked up from brushing out his horse's coat and frowned.
"I'm not sure it would be a good idea for him to reconnect with those priests," Trowa argued.
"I think he needs it. You and I don't believe – but he does. And he hasn't had the chance to mark their passing."
Trowa sighed.
"Sure, but what if we take him there and he decides to – I don't know – take orders? How the hell are we going to explain to Solo that we found his brother one week and let him become a priest the next?"
"If he wanted to become a priest he would have done so by now," Heero pointed out. "He's obviously been to Antioch – he could have joined the temple here if he wanted to."
Trowa frowned.
"He had people to fight for, before."
"He has people to fight for now," Heero argued.
Trowa shrugged.
"He's your prince."
Heero rolled his eyes.
"Do you have a better idea?"
"No," Trowa sighed. "I think it's a good idea. I just don't want to set foot in that temple. Ever."
Heero nodded in understanding. His memories of his father's death were bad enough, but Trowa had lost many more, and he could only imagine how painful the ceremony was for him.
Trowa finished with Heavyarms and gave her a carrot before following Heero out of the stables.
"Do you know where he is?" Trowa asked Heero.
"He's been fencing with Meilin in the South Courtyard this time of day," Heero answered. "The tournament is over… but I imagine he'll still be working on his technique."
"Hm. He certainly doesn't fight like any Theran I've ever encountered," Trowa said. "Even if you hadn't hesitated yesterday I'm not sure you would have won."
"I'll defeat him the next time we fight."
"Of course. You've seen the way he moves, now."
Sure enough, Duo was going through a series of passes and advances at Meilin's direction.
Meilin spotted them before Duo did, and she frowned at their approach.
Heero couldn't help but notice that a week of decent meals had started to fill out Duo's frame. He no longer looked like a half-starved child. The tailored black doublet and breeches he wore only seemed to emphasize the lean strength in his frame as he moved.
He caught himself admiring the prince's ass when he lunged forward and he shook himself.
"Good morning," Trowa called out, startling Duo.
The prince turned and his shoulders tensed when he recognized them.
"If you're here to reprimand me, mind waiting until at least after I've had lunch today?" Duo sneered.
"Actually," Trowa said, "Heero suggested that you might benefit from a tour of the Royal Quarter. Obviously you're familiar with the Eastern Quarter, but most of the ranking nobility live in palaces surrounding this one."
Duo frowned and looked between them, clearly expecting a trap.
"So I'm allowed to leave the damn palace now?"
"In my company," Heero reminded him.
Duo rolled his eyes, but Heero could see that he was eager for any opportunity to escape from what he clearly viewed as a prison.
"Mind if we pick this up tomorrow?" He asked Meilin.
"Not at all." She gave both Heero and Trowa a warning look, as though Duo were under her protection.
Heero had always respected the iron-willed princess, and he was honestly grateful that she and Wufei had taken Duo into their care.
Duo sheathed his sword and fell into step between Heero and Trowa as they started off towards the main gate.
"Solo didn't order the two of you to kill me and dump my body, did he?" Duo asked, clearly still uneasy at the invitation to leave the palace.
Trowa snorted.
"Hardly. Although if you manage to embarrass him in a fight like that again he might rethink his desire to make amends."
"Make amends?"
"He thinks he failed you – that he should have rescued you."
Duo's shoulders tensed.
"Yeah, well…"
"But since he was only twelve when you were kidnapped, clearly you didn't expect him to rescue you," Trowa continued.
Heero watched Duo swallow and look down.
"You did," he realized.
"Of course I did!" Duo snapped. "He was my hero! I don't remember that much, but I remember getting lost, all the damn time, in those corridors. And he'd always find me. Every time – even when I was convinced no one remembered me. Of course I thought he'd rescue me!"
Heero remembered, now that Duo mentioned it, the prince's penchant for wandering off when he had been a child. Duo had constantly eluded the nurses and later tutors. He had always been amazed by just how far a four year old was able to wander on his own. And just as Duo had said – Solo had been the only one who could always find him.
The rest of the walk to the temple complex was made in silence. Duo's body language made it clear that any further conversation would result in an argument, and Heero frankly didn't care to engage him.
When they arrived at the temple complex that sat on the opposite bank of the river from the palace he saw Duo hesitate.
The complex consisted of temples for each other gods, but the god of death's temple was in the center of the others – opposite the god of life's – and the imposing black marble columns of the temple sent a chill down Heero's spine.
"This isn't the Royal Quarter," Duo said.
"Technically it is," Heero argued. "And if you want, we can certainly take you on a tour of palaces. But… I thought you might want to visit the temple."
Duo swallowed hard, but then he nodded and moved forward, leading the way to the temple.
The inside of the temple was every bit as dark and disturbing as Heero remembered it being. He almost regretted suggesting this, but one look at Duo made him confident that this had been the right choice.
The prince sighed, and tension seemed to ease from his entire frame.
Heero and Trowa remained at the threshold of the temple, and Heero knew that the other man was just as uncomfortable as he was.
Duo slowly walked down the center aisle of the temple and fell to his knees before the gold statue of an eagle in flight. Clutched in the eagle's talons was a bowl of ashes. Duo reached into the bowl and then rubbed a handful of ashes across his brow.
Heero wasn't sure how much time passed before a priest entered the hall, sweeping down the center aisle in a whisper of black robes.
The hooded figure walked around Duo and laid a hand on his head.
"Have you come to ease a passing, child of the gods?" The priest asked, his voice an aged and raspy whisper.
"Yes," Duo choked.
"And will you confess your sins against the God? So that he may know you and judge your worthiness?"
Duo's shoulders stiffened.
"Yes," he said after a moment.
"We should leave," Trowa suggested.
Heero nodded in agreement and the two started to leave.
"Remain!" The priest called out, and Heero and Trowa froze in place. "His sins must be acknowledged and judged. Secrecy will do nothing but add to his shame."
If Heero needed any reason to avoid ever going into this temple again he now had it. He would rather face the Mysian army alone that have to listen as Duo confessed his 'sins.'
Trowa squeezed his shoulder, as if sensing Heero's inner turmoil.
Neither had much respect for the gods, and even less for their priests – the idea of having to be judged to even say a prayer for the dead was ridiculous, in Heero's mind. What did these priests know of life? What did their gods even care?
He forced himself to calm down as the priest started to question Duo.
"When did you last confess before the god?"
"Five years, ten months, and twelve days ago," Duo said after a moment's hesitation.
"In that time, what shame have your brought upon the god?"
Duo sucked in a long breath and then slowly released it.
"I have allowed the bodies to lie in the ground. I have killed in his name, without his blessing. I –"
"How many have you killed?"
"Forty-nine. I've taken forty-nine souls without his blessing."
"Continue."
"I failed to keep his sanctuary pure. I have failed to pray to his mistress. I… I have lusted. And I have cursed his name. Many, many times."
The priest was silent for a long moment.
"And what honor have you brought upon the god?"
"I have only taken the lives of those who take others."
Heero frowned. Surely Duo had done something else that could be considered good by the standards of the God of Death? It certainly seemed that he had done plenty wrong.
The priest smoothed his hand over Duo's head, to the back of his neck, and brushed his thumb over the eagle tattooed there.
"And yet you would pledge your life to the god?" The priest seemed taken aback by the mark of an acolyte.
"I cannot," Duo said, and his voice was a broken whisper.
"The god knows you as his child," the priest intoned. "You are his to preserve, and your errors are his to correct. He will guide you into his embrace one day. While you are apart, you must strive to bring honor to the god. Be worthy of his eternity."
The priest used the hem of his cloak to wipe Duo's forehead clean of the ashes.
"You are forgiven for the shame you have caused the god, and you are blessed for the honor you have brought him. Pray to his mistress and she will light the path for you to follow so that you may honor him again."
"Thank you, father," Duo murmured. He rose to his feet.
"But – you are no longer his servant. The mark you bear is of a path no longer open to you."
"I know, father."
"Therefore, you must live as one of his children."
"I – I don't understand."
"It is no sin for you to lust, child. It is no sin for you to love. It is your duty to honor him as best you may. If you cannot serve him under the dark hood, then you must serve him in the light."
"Yes," Duo agreed slowly.
"That should put Solo's mind at ease," Trowa muttered.
Heero nodded in agreement.
"Shall we mark a passing?" The priest asked, guiding Duo towards the banks of candles that flanked either side of the eagle. Many flickered in the drafty air, but there looked to be dozens that were unlit.
"I have many to remember," Duo said, hesitating slightly.
"Then let us mark each one," the priest assured him.
By the time Duo and the priest had said prayers for the souls of those Duo wanted to remember and lit candles for each of them at least two hours had passed, and nearly every candle had been lit.
The sheer number of deaths that the boy had witnessed was staggering, and Heero felt his stomach constrict when Duo's hand shook as he lit the last candle.
"We're never coming back here," Trowa muttered.
"Agreed."
When Duo turned and walked back towards them, Heero steeled himself for the same abrasive attitude that Duo had displayed when they dragged him here in the first place, but instead he seemed remarkably at ease.
Heero and Trowa followed him out of the temple and fell into step on either side of him.
"Thank you," Duo said after a few minutes of walking. "That was something I needed to do."
"I live to serve," Heero murmured, but the standard Guards response made Duo frown.
"I don't want your service," he said with a sigh. "I don't want slaves. I don't want people obeying me just because I was born to wealth and power."
"Then what do you want?" Trowa asked.
"The hell if I know," Duo muttered.
The honest response made both Heero and Trowa smirk.
"My family made a commitment to preserve the Royal house of Thera, and we've done so for the last two hundred years." Heero said. "My service honors that commitment. I do not choose to protect your life because you were born a prince. I choose to protect your life because you BECAME a prince. Your actions have the strength to change thousands of lives, and I believe that you will change them for the better."
Duo shook his head.
"The two of you make a great team, you know that? I've got him," he jerked his thumb at Trowa, "egging me on by claiming I don't have the balls to do this and throwing guilt at me left and right, and you," he pointed at Heero, "lay that shit on me. There's no winning with you two."
"We've had years to perfect our double-sided attacks," Trowa agreed with a smirk. "Plus, we're always right. Always."
Duo snorted a laugh and then sobered.
"Any chance we could not eat at the palace tonight?" He asked. "I'd like to go just one meal without having the king look at me like I'm his only hope for the future."
Heero refrained from pointing out that Gregory looked at Duo like that because he was the only hope for the future.
Trowa arched an eyebrow at Heero, silently asking his opinion.
"This isn't some plan to run away is it?"
"No," Duo sighed. "I've given up on any hope of escaping. What, now that you've saddled me with the burden of making the decisions to change thousands of lives for the better." Duo shrugged. "I'd just rather not make those decisions on an empty stomach."
Trowa had suggested Maeve's Tavern for their evening repast. The tavern was on the edge of the Royal Quarter, buried among the townhouses that served as the homes for the craftsmen and artisans employed by the Royal family.
Heero didn't frequent the tavern often – Harold's was more welcoming to soldiers – but he knew that Trowa appreciated the atmosphere and the patrons, both of which reminded the Sentinel of his original home.
By the time they arrived the tavern was full of half-drunken poets and actors who seemed to be in the midst of an argument.
Heero shook his head, but Trowa's eyes lit up at the sight, and even Duo seemed intrigued.
"Come on." He led them to a booth removed from the action, with a good view of the door and a quick escape route through the kitchens.
"What's happening?" Duo asked as they sat.
"Drunken artists trying to show off for each other," Trowa answered him when Heero only snorted derisively. "Maeve's is the place most poets and actors come to drink, and you can see that they're a rowdy bunch."
"Does Solo come here?" Duo asked.
"No," Trowa shook his head. "He – like Heero – prefers Harold's. Quatre Winner comes here every once in a while, however."
Duo frowned.
"He's…"
"Your brother's lover," Trowa supplied.
"Yeah. And he's from Lydia?"
"Yes. A prince – but with twelve older sisters he's as far from the throne as you can get. Likely he'll stay here warming your brother's bed for the rest of his life."
"He didn't compete in the tournament."
"Quatre doesn't believe in needless combat," Trowa said with a frown. "He's a deadly warrior, mind you, but he thinks that these games are a waste of time."
"I agree with him there," Duo muttered.
"You don't think there's value in a competition that allows anyone in Antioch to compete for the honor of being named the best swordsman?" Heero asked.
"Sure – if the field was actually open to everyone. I didn't see any commoners there."
"You will at the Hellas games," Heero promised him. "This tournament wasn't quite as anticipated as those are."
A barmaid finally came over to their table. She deposited a tankard of beer and three tin mugs on the table.
"Will you be dining with us tonight?" She asked. She started to wink at Heero, but then looked at the others. "Three fine men such as yourselves – will you be needing company?"
"No," Trowa assured her. "We suit each other just fine."
Heero was amused by the look of comic horror on Duo's face. It seemed that the priest's command to embrace lust hadn't sunk in quite yet.
The barmaid frowned for a moment, then cackled.
"And I'll bet you do suit each other too!"
Heero rolled his eyes.
"Is that lamb I smell?" Trowa asked.
"Indeed it is. Marinated and roasted all day. Served with potatoes."
"Sounds delicious," Trowa said, he looked at Heero, who nodded in agreement. "Duo?"
"Er, yeah, sounds good."
"Excellent." She left them and headed towards the kitchens.
Heero poured beer for all of them and passed the mugs around.
Duo sniffed his.
"Don't tell me you've never had beer," Trowa said.
"And just when was I supposed to?" Duo demanded. "I haven't had the chance to go to a tavern before, the priests don't believe in indulgences, and for some reason we never got around to setting up our distillery in the rebel camp."
"Try it," Heero suggested, hoping to forestall a return to their earlier arguments.
Duo frowned but did as instructed, taking a healthy sip of the beer.
"Not bad," he concluded. "Bitter."
"Therans prefer their beer that way," Heero told him. He nodded at Trowa. "In Kos it's dark and full."
"And in Mysia it's sweet enough to be brandy," Trowa sneered.
A round of applause erupted from the poets on the opposite side of the tavern.
Heero looked over to see two of the poets bowing to each other while the others cheered them.
"And what's to be our next topic?" One of the poets demanded. "Shall we compare the sweet tortures of new love? Or wax lyric on the beauty of youth? Or –"
"How about a poem to celebrate the return of the young prince?" Someone spoke up.
"Ah! A worthy subject indeed!"
Duo groaned and sank back in his seat. Heero watched as he downed the rest of his mug and refilled it.
"Please no," he muttered as the poets cleared their throats and prepared.
"Fifteen years we've lived without the light of his violet eyes," the first poet begun.
"Or the delight of his amorous sighs!" The second one added.
The crowd cheered and Duo groaned.
Heero smirked.
"But now he's returned to his home," the first said.
"From whence we hope he'll never roam!"
"These guys are terrible!" Duo said.
"Yes," Heero agreed.
The barmaid returned with their meals, and Heero hoped that the food would distract Duo from the ongoing poetry.
"He defeated Solo with but a stick," the first poet said, and Heero closed his eyes, able to guess where the next verse would lead them.
"But he's yet to prove who has a better prick!"
The crowd cheered with laughter and Duo choked on his beer.
"Do you Therans think about anything other than sex?" He demanded.
"You Therans," Trowa corrected him.
"You'll get used to it," Heero assured him.
Duo shook his head in disbelief as the poets bowed before their crowd.
Luckily, the poets sat down to drink more, and they were left in blessed silence to finish their meal.
"We'd never be subjected to this at Harold's," Heero pointed out.
Trowa smirked.
"You're still traumatized from the poem they composed about your prick," he said.
"I wouldn't say traumatized," Heero argued, though he had been mortified at the time. Trowa had convinced Heero, Quatre, and Solo to accompany him to the tavern – and Solo was recognizable enough that the poets had flocked to their table and spent the evening trying to outdo each other in bawdy rhymes. No one, including Heero, had been safe from their inspiration. He smirked as he recalled the poets description of Trowa.
"They had a few choice words to describe your skill in bed, if I recall," Heero pointed out.
Trowa smirked. "And they were well chosen, too." He sniffed and adopted a noble air. "After all, I am a king among lovers and a legend in bed."
Duo shook his head.
"And I thought you two were the only sane ones in this place."
"We are, but we happen to enjoy sex just as much as any other normal human. You should know – you no doubt got an eyeful when you were spying on us by the river."
Duo flushed red.
Heero decided to save the prince from having to defend himself.
"We should leave before they finish their next round – they get worse the more they drink."
"Yes," Trowa agreed, "and I don't think your Prince can handle any more innuendo tonight."
Duo scowled.
Heero tossed a few gold coins onto the table and led them from the tavern.
He led them back to the palace, allowing Duo to set a sedate pace.
"So what IS the obsession with sex about?" Duo finally asked.
"You've inherited a cold kingdom," Trowa pointed out. "Nothing keeps you warm quite as well as another warm body."
Duo frowned at that answer.
"Plus, the patron god of Antioch is the god of life – and he did command that his children rejoice in each other," Heero added.
"I've noticed that a lot of the nobles have lovers of their same sex," Duo made the statement a question.
"Legitimacy is an issue among the nobility – and royalty especially," Trowa explained with a shrug. "Most nobles are encouraged to be bisexual – better to love take a lover you aren't likely to have illegitimate offspring with."
"Wufei and Meilin seem obsessed with each other."
"They are," Heero agreed. "Most married couples maintain their lovers, even after marriage, but those two…" he shook his head.
"Solo talks about sex all of the time," Duo groused.
"When have you been spending time with him?" Trowa asked, amused.
"I don't," Duo growled. "But even just in passing – he can't seem to help but comment on someone's skill in bed."
Trowa shrugged. "He's a prince of Thera. Sex is one of his hobbies."
Duo was still frowning.
"So he just sleeps with anything that moves?"
"No," Heero argued. "Well, when he was younger he was less discerning…"
"He loves Quatre. Worships him, I'd say," Trowa jumped in. "And he doesn't believe that sex is meaningless. None of us do."
"No, I get that you two don't. I see the way you look at each other. You –" he stopped himself and shrugged. " You didn't just jump into bed with each other."
"Actually, we did," Heero corrected him.
"We grew up together," Trowa added, "but I never really thought about Heero as a potential lover until… he was."
Heero nodded in agreement.
Duo sighed, and Heero didn't think he was imagining the wistfulness he heard in it.
"Yeah, well…" his voice trailed off.
Heero realized that Duo had grown up with no one – that it was entirely possible that everyone he had known as a child may very well be dead.
"Don't worry," Trowa said, clearly following the same logic that Heero had, "I'm sure Solo will give you another few weeks before he starts sending his old lovers to warm your bed." He clapped Duo on the back.
Up Next: Duo finally starts to adjust to his life in the palace.
-0-
Some facts about this fantasy world:
There isn't actually any magic. It's really just kind of a medieval-ish place, with a small pantheon of gods. The gods will be explained more as we go, but they don't really interfere with life – it's a lot like our own contemporary religions.
Thera and Mysia are ancient Greek cities/islands/states and I'm definitely stealing a bit from Greek mythology as I craft this.
As for technology: again, very medieval, except that I gave them running water – because, let's be honest – running water is AWESOME and truly necessary to even think about the Gundam boys being super hot and having lots of sex.