The Elder Lands

Chapter 30

Lucan came out of the hall to the expectant gaze of his father. With the princess’s words still on his mind, he looked upon his father’s visage differently.

“How did you do?” his father asked.

“Well,” Lucan said. “I’ve earned enough Orbs for my Iron body.”

Sir Golan exclaimed gleefully “Splendid! Come, there is time for you to see to that before we depart. While you do, I must go offer the princess the courtesy of an escort.”

Lucan saw that Cordell had arrived at the Hall. The man-at-arms received a gesture from his father, upon which he led Lucan to a nearby street where they found a relatively secluded alley. Cordell procured a wooden box from somewhere and Lucan took a seat.

He would elevate his Physique here. He felt it was a bit rushed, but there was a saying, ‘The best boon is a swift boon.’

He summoned his blessing and took a look.

Race: Human

Level: 4

Vital Orbs: 10

Mind and Body

Physique: Copper III 0/10

Spirit: Basic 0/1

Skills (0) 0/100

(Passive) Swordsmanship lv21: Journeyman

(Hybrid) 7-Point Star Dance lv4: Novice (0/1)

(Active) Wraith Strike lv2: Novice (0/1)

His next leap in Physique would be significant. The norm among professional soldierly was a Physique between Iron and Steel. While Physique enhancements added to one’s naturally existent strength without discrimination and it was difficult to measure their whole strength after enhancement, it was expected that a man at Iron Physique would be twice as strong as a healthy man. Lucan looked forward to it.

He focused on his Physique and willed his Vital Orbs into it.

An urgent heat welled up in his chest and passed through his limbs, searing muscle and bone with a pull and twist. It was as painful as his first Physique improvement, though this time he was more familiar with what to expect. Eventually, the pain receded and his body settled down. A renewed feeling of strength was born within him, as though he carried an additional reservoir of power on his person.

He stood up and nodded at Cordell who’d watched over him. Then he summoned his blessing once more, a nagging part of him wishing to affirm his achievement.

Race: Human

Level: 4

Vital Orbs: 0

Mind and Body

Physique: Iron I 0/15

Spirit: Basic 0/1

Skills (0) 0/100

(Passive) Swordsmanship lv21: Journeyman

(Hybrid) 7-Point Star Dance lv4: Novice (0/1)

(Active) Wraith Strike lv2: Novice (0/1)

Now he would have some leeway in putting Vital Orbs into his Skills, though he would still have to keep enhancing his Physique at proper times.

After checking on his blessing, Lucan along with Cordel headed back to his father near the Hall. The knight was standing at a proper distance from the princess with an excessively rigid posture. When Lucan arrived, he heard his father’s voice.

“Thank you for granting me the honor, Your Highness,” he said, though the seasoned knight couldn’t hide the signs of surprise on his face. Lucan even spied the astonishment on Sir Thorne’s face, the latter standing a step to the side and behind the princess.

After excusing himself, Lucan’s father turned around and gestured for Cordell, who hurried forward. “We will have the honor of escorting the princess back to Eldham as additional guards during her journey. Prepare the greenhorns and make certain they don’t breach the boundaries of propriety in the princess’s presence, and let them know how to conduct themselves with the Royal Guard.”

Cordell nodded solemnly then stalked his way towards the keep. They would be traveling tomorrow, but the man-at-arms likely wanted to instruct his lessers sooner rather than later.

“The princess has accepted our escort?” Lucan asked after the man-at-arms left.

“Yes,” his father said, sparing him an inquiring glance. “Surprisingly so.”

Lucan shrugged. He didn’t know why the princess accepted an empty invitation that was often offered as a traditional courtesy, but he had his suspicions. Perhaps she’d seen in him an adequate companion who could entertain her along the trip, or perhaps she was convinced of what she’d told him about his father, so much that she wanted to honor the knight by granting him the opportunity.

“We depart at first light,” his father continued. “Let’s return to the keep. There, we can prepare and you can tell me more about what happened in the Trial.”

The next day saw their party waiting for the princess at the city’s northern gate. Her retinue’s arrival was prompt, though they didn’t catch sight of her royal highness, what with her ornate giant of a carriage barely visible behind the ten bronze-clad knights and the twenty men-at-arms that constituted her procession.

Lucan managed to get a better look at the carriage as his father met Sir Thorne and they prepared the arrangement for their march. It was white with lines made of real silver and gold tracing their way in curves and circles on its surface. Its wheels were a shade beyond white and they were much larger than the average carriage’s. The carriage had small windows on the sides which Lucan could see were closed tight. He also had no doubt that the carriage was enchanted from the inside to provide additional safety.

Once the two knights had argued their way into an arrangement, his father arguing against marching at the tail of the procession and Sir Thorne against his father marching closer to the carriage, it was decided that they would march on the outer flank of the princess’s carriage, where the Royal Guard would still be between them and her highness.

The royal banner waved in the wind as they began their march, standing significantly higher and larger than the Zeshs’ modest one. The king’s banner was of a four-winged, golden phoenix on a heater shield, and it looked as majestic as its size suggested.

Their journey would take a fortnight, particularly because they couldn’t hasten it lest they make it uncomfortable for her highness.

Once they moved out of the city’s vicinity, Lucan spied the princess’s visage through the open window of her carriage. She was watching the wilderness with a serene countenance, her hair blowing with an errant breeze that passed over the road. Lucan believed she would’ve cut a stunning figure had she not looked so plain even after being adorned with all the garments, jewelry, and powders of royalty.

For most of the day, the princess’s windows stayed open. Lucan sometimes saw her eying his father curiously. Other times she and Lucan would exchange polite smiles or nods. Mostly, she seemed to be thoughtful; while Lucan himself was curious about what had happened at the end of the Trial, when he had had to wait for her to finish.

Their first stop came before sunset at a known clearing where caravans often camped. There had been a small caravan camped in it when they’d arrived, but they’d had to move their camp to the other side and down the road once the Royal Guard worked their persuasion on them.

Sir Golan’s party had to make their rest at the edge of the royal camp, but still, Lucan saw the princess leave the carriage to stretch her legs, taking a walk through the middle of the camp and receiving a bow whenever she addressed one of her guards.

Their journey continued in the same vein for the next few days. Lucan noted that the Royal Guard seemed to grow more relaxed with their presence, even allowing them to get closer to the princess at times. On the tenth night of their journey, he finally got a chance to ask her about the Trial when she invited him to converse.

“The spirit said that I was to be baptized by the Sphere,” she said.

“What does that mean?” Lucan asked as they walked through the camp, shadowed by two of the princess’s knights.

“It’s as ambiguous as it sounds in truth,” she said. “Though it was surprising in a pleasant way. I cannot speak much about it. Though few people can compel me to do anything, it turns out that the spirit is one of them after the baptism. It came with its benefits, however.” She raised a hand and a faint glow of green came over her skin. “The trade was more than fair.”

“You must have answered all his riddles,” Lucan’s thoughts came out of his mouth. It was more of a pondering than a statement.

“I did indeed,” the princess said. “Enough about me, though. It’s your turn.” She gave him a knowing look.

Lucan nodded. He still remembered her rules. He’d inquired about her affairs for a bit, and now he would have to repay her by answering her own inquiries about his affairs.

“Tell me about the South,” she said.

It was a simple question, so Lucan obliged. He told her about their territory, their neighboring estates, the threat of the Wildermen and the warlords of The Shattered Kingdom. The princess listened quietly, nodding at appropriate times and humming thoughtfully at others. Eventually, as the evening grew old, she bade him good night and he returned to his tent.

He got the chance to speak with the princess again on briefer occasions, and she once even summoned his father to converse.

Before the sunset of the thirteenth day since their departure and while they were preparing their camp, they spotted a party coming from the direction of the capital. Seeing an unfamiliar noble banner, a few of the princess’s guards rode to inquire while the rest made and secured their camp.

Eventually, the Royal Guard affirmed that they were envoys of Bitis leaving the capital and heading east. It was even deemed safe enough for the princess to walk around the camp, since some of the knights recognized one of the envoys and ascertained their allegiance.

As they passed by their camp, Lucan watched the delegation with curiosity, upon which, the princess stepped up beside him. “Bitans, they were here to ask for a pittance from my father as usual.”

“Your Highness?” Lucan looked at her quizzically. “They’re here for coin?”

The princess chuckled but without much emotion in the act. “Of course, what else are they good for?”

“Why?”

“You said you read history, you must know theirs. You don’t know what they do, what their very Kingdom was born to do?”

“Yes,” Lucan nodded. “Mostly, they were meant to keep the old Empire in check. With their mounted archers and their assassins countering the Empire’s army, they have historically succeeded.”

“And you believe they did it for nothing?” the princess said. “The Bitans don’t produce much. They’re not mercantile people either. They only know war, and an old form of it at that, one that was fashioned to master the battlefield against the Empire. Centuries ago, when the Empire splintered, there was an unwritten agreement between the young Kingdoms of the Elder Lands to provide Bitis with coin in exchange for them bearing the threat of the slumbering giant alone. Since then, the threat has waned further and further, and some of the Kings don’t see a need to continue with that agreement, including my father. It’s more of a tradition now, an old, costly one. And my father barely abides by it, giving them as little as possible.”

Lucan was surprised. While some of the books had hinted that Bitis would sometimes receive goods or coins during times of war against the Veti Empire, none of them had mentioned a permanent agreement for a stipend to be paid to the Kingdom. Of course, Lucan knew why the Kingdoms kept such an agreement unwritten. It could be misconstrued as a tribute to a higher power which would have its own political implications. He would have to try to understand the depths of apparently shallow hints like the ones he’d seen in the future, since he’d missed such a significant agreement simply because it had never been explicitly written in one of his books. Or perhaps he should get to know more about history from people like the princess. He was certain to hear things he’d never known before.

“They’re heading east now,” Lucan said. “They expect the guilds to pay them?”

The princess nodded regally. “And their expectations will be met. The guilds will pay generously.”

“Why?”

“Recognition,” she said, giving him an excited smile. It was the first time he felt her truly interested in something she spoke of since they’d spoken about her mother and his. “The Union’s political position isn’t enviable. They’re young, without a monarch of appropriate prestige to represent them, and their relationship with the Mer does them no favors in the Elder Lands. Most of the Kingdoms either ignore them, begrudgingly deal with them, or tolerate them as my father does. By paying Bitis the same amount the old Kingdom of Essia used to, they are trying to cement their position as its successor instead of the thick alliance of tradesmen they are.”

Lucan listened aptly. This was an interesting topic for him. Although his books provided an appropriate background for the Elder Lands’ politicking, nothing could match up to someone who had current knowledge and sufficient understanding of regional politics. The princess seemed to possess both.

“It seems I have guests,” the princess said, looking in the direction of the approaching envoys who were likely coming to greet her. She turned to Lucan kindly. “If you will.”

Understanding, Lucan nodded, lowering his head to the princess before leaving and allowing her to receive the envoys’ respects.

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