Chapter 3: Ch 1: A New Face
Stretching while the cold cuffs drop from my ankles and wrists. Then stop as I realize my undergarments are showing. The king sends a guard to the door, then he comes back with a set of clothes. With a nod to the cage the guard walks over. While walking to the cage the guard fumbles with a set of iron keys to open the cell. It creaks like an old rusted fence. He hands me the clothes, turns, and walks out.
"Im sure these will be satisfactory for you?" The king says.
I smile back. "Yes."
Saying that he and everyone walks to the door. Sakura stops and speaks.
"Please meet me outside when you have dressed, Emelia." Then she closes the door behind her.
Looking at my outfit, it's my old leather armor but refurbished. Slipping into the skintight outfit from my city called a Favin it covers you up to the collarbone bone and down to your toes. It helps keep heat and cold out. My leather greeves slip on easily enough. The rest of my armor hugs me like normal, lastly the leather boots hug my feet like partners reunited. I lace them up and jump to my feet.
"Nice I feel much better besides this small ache in my wrists and ankles, but that should go away soon." With another stretch I head out the door to the world outside.
The starlight is out in full force I cover my face as it stings my eyes. Once adjusted I look around and find Sakura leaning against the wall.
"Good, if you'd be willing, please follow me." She begins to walk at a very sturdy pace.
One I have to try really hard to match.
The sites of the city are something to imagine cobbled roads shined to a point where the starlight glints off the top. Multiple carriages and people travel up and down the road.
How does anyone ride on these roads without smacking the hell into the one in front of them? There's a lot of many amazing things to see.
Enchanted posts line the road to light it up in the moonlight.
"Man this place is so much bigger than Bladesfall." I say out loud.
Sakura looks back at me, her dark red eyes cut through me.
"You are in Cardinal City the capital of all the Kingdom of Cardinal. Of course, it would be bigger." She doesn't even look back at me as she continues to gracefully weave her way through the crowd like some kind of dancer.
"Hey, Bladesfall was nothing to slouch at just because we had stone roads and not cobbled."
A twinge of guilt creeps its talons back into my mind as I use my hometown in the past tense.
She doesn't acknowledge me, just keeps walking.
"Well, at least the scenery is better than the company," I say out loud to make sure she hears me.
After I think a mile or so I see a large castle looming a few hundred steps ahead of us.
The capital is as gorgeous as the history books brag about. Magic brandished in the streets, performers entertaining the Noble class in their personal booths far above the stands below. The less fortunate watch from below them.
Man the Noble alliance act is just as prominent in the Capital as it was in Bladesfall.
"Make haste Emelia the king wishes to proceed with the Introduction ceremony."
Introduction ceremony? "Introduction into what?" I ask.
Sakura picks up her stride rounding a corner out of sight.
"Man is she quick better hurry before I lose her. Plenty of time for sightseeing later.... maybe."
When rounding the corner where Sakura passed I stop in my tracks for a moment and look up to a brick building.
Was there someone on the roof? I swear I saw a shadow.
Bah! Come on Emelia you're losing it.
Then I take off at a brisk jog trying to catch Sakura who is many steps ahead of me.
A few corners later we finally reach an archway that leads up a path to the castle. It is as I believed the doors are Star dusted. Three guards walk the streets in full steel armor carrying large axes.
"Star dusted Wood, fifth strongest material in the world," I say out loud, impressed. But the doorway to the castle would indeed have strong protections.
"Yes, this door lets you onto the path to the castle. So having strong reinforcement is just common sense." Sakura says haughtily.
"Of course but this Cardinal why not use Sea Stone or Azar Diamond?" I ask.
"They are the second and fourth strongest materials in the world. I am positive I remember Janet telling me the capital has an abundance of it due to the trade agreement with the Calvar pirates." I say.
Sakura scoffs. "We have an abundance of these products sure. But we don't expect this door to keep out any intruders for long if anyone is bold enough to attack."
"Mhmm, that makes sense to use a less valuable product on a spot that's literally here to just slow down an assault. If someone attacks the capital they would have to be very strong." I say to myself.
"I'm guessing you use the Sea Stone and Azar's as the castle doors and weapons for the elite guards that protect the castle, yes?" I already know the answer. I just like asking questions. My curiosity is never satisfied.
Looking at her I notice she has clenched her fist a bit. "You should know you are from Bladesfall." She can't blurt this out fast enough.
Hearing her bring up Bladesfall sends another sword to my already pierced heart.
"Shouldn't we go to the castle now? People are starting to stare." Sakura takes a look around without moving her head too much then turns on her heels and walks to the archway.
Finally, we walk up to the doors, the men take one look at Sakura and stumble, no, scramble to the levers to open the door. Two men on opposite sides of the door pull the levers.
Creak, click, clack.
With an old whine, the doors open slowly.
Then Sakura and I walk through the doors up to the castle. The cobbled road turns to a rocky mountain path.
Guess they decided to not cobble the path here. I wonder why? The Cost, or a more strategic reason?
I have half a mind to ask Sakura but she's definitely done speaking with me after my barrage of questions back there.
Now that I continue to speak to her and look her over she seems... familiar. Not like I've met her before but almost like a storybook.
Pink, hair, a hidden weapon, a strong magical aura, a confident swagger, and maid to the king. No, the king has maids he was the one who founded the maid association in Rapture after all... Sakura is not just a typical maid for hire...Wait!
"You're Sakura Zephyr!" Without even the slightest movement a chain is wrapped around my neck multiple tiny spikes are attached to the chain luckily just the tips poke my neck drawing light blood trails.
"How do you know my name? Speak now or I will sever your head from your shoulders."
No anger is shown on the outside but her silver eyes are molten.
"I read your biography in the Letter Hall in B...Bladesfall. Then with hearsay of the king's personal maid being THE Sakura Zephyr I just used context clues." The molten rage behind Sakura's eyes threaten to skald me.
But they cool down and her chain drops from my neck.
Her chain seems to sliver back into her sleeve.
Well she's just a wonderful box of mysteries, isn't she?
We begin walking again then Sakura clears her throat.
"You will not speak my full name in public understood?" She doesn't look back but her voice feels like her chain wrapped around my neck again.
"Why? The whole world knows that back during the Civil war, at the battle of Ironblood Keep." Sakura clears her throat again.
Sakura speaks up. "Yes, it's not a secret what happened during the battle. Despite that, there are still those who need to believe me to have died in that battle. My looks may not have changed but that Sakura Zephyr died then. Now enough talking we have made it to the second checkpoint."
Nodding I try keeping my curiosity at bay. Sakura and I move quietly through the second archway built into a stone rock way.
Wasn't much of a walk to the third checkpoint; we made our way through it and finally reached the king's courtyard. It's extravagantly beautiful. Gardens litter the yard, with blue, yellow, red, pink, and white flowers decorate the gardens giving them a gorgeous look to the white stone.
There are a lot of people in the court yard sitting under verandas, at small white tables, butlers at their sides pouring tea, liquor, and the like into the cups or flasks whatever the person chooses. The verandas sit in the middle of these gardens, I see a large fountain in the middle of the square with the fifth queen of mermaids carved to a fine beauty.
"That's Jupiter the fifth queen of the mermaids," I say enamored.
Sakura nods."Yes, she saved King Ezikiel's most trusted advisor during the civil war. So he had the best artist come and build this in her honor."
The king's most trusted advisor I think she probably means Lamden Star. He was one of the sole deciding factors during the Civil war.
"Hmm, didn't know that. Actually, I hope I can learn that story someday." I can feel my lips curl to a smile.
I love stories of any kind.
"It is a very beautiful tale," Sakura says, still keeping her stride.
Now I really need to find him and get the dirt on this story.
We weave through many nobles, maids, and butlers as we reach the stairs leading to the castle doors. We walk up the stairs not a lot of them but enough to get my hamstrings burning.
Right at the top of the stairs, I hear a loud snort like the pigs at old man's Zakaria's farm. The sound comes from a small giant in front of me. My heart stops, I feel my hands clam up and feel my breathing begin to flair like rapidly running water. As I'm taken back to that moment.
The mountainside tumbles as the King of Giants hurdles to the city below. He stands forty feet tall, a scar running from his left eye to his nose, drops from a hundred feet down to our oceanside city below. His impact craters the ground thousands of lives are lost in a second. His yellow eyes burn like tiny stars. I can still feel his aura so massive, unlike anything I've felt before. A thousand-year-old legend towering before me.
"Emelia come back to us."
I hear a distant voice and a shaking sensation waking me back to the real world.
The memory fades and I see Sakura's red eyes peering down at me. "Good, your pupils are back to normal, what happened Emelia?" Sakura asks me her eyes hard with questions.
While struggling to sit up I can feel the ground is not the same. It's rough and I notice it's callused. Then I look up and I'm met by two large yellow eyes. With a scream I fall off the giant's hand like a bag of limestone. He catches me before I can hit the ground.
"STAY BACK GET AWAY FROM ME YOU MONSTER!" This time I jump off using my wind magic to help slow my fall. I place my palms down and the wind slows my decent.
I cower behind a stone column.
"Ah, your city was attacked by The Giant King you said. I should have warned you of Baxter beforehand it was careless of me." I hear Sakura's voice from the other side of the pillar.
Then a deep voice speaks up it's not as thunderous as the Giant King's voice was.
"I scare girl?" The Giant asks.
"Yes, but not at any fault of your own Baxter. Please don't worry just go back to your post okay?' Sakura's voice turns light and fluffy like she's talking to a child. Weird compared to how tough and scratchy her voice is.
Loud steps pound their way down the stairs. I peek out from behind the column and see Sakura looking at me.
"I apologize Emelia I forgot your traumatic experience with the Giant King. During the raid on your village." She bows.
A tinge of red hits my pale cheeks. "Oh, no you're okay," I say.
It's not her fault. I can't blame her for my trauma, just those bastards who burned my life away.
She nods. "Well let us continue on."
Sakura stops and turns to look at me.
"Also Baxter is a sweet giant who has served this country proudly for two hundred years. Please try not to hate him for the fault of his peers." Then she turns and heads inside the castle doors.
Wit a nod I catch back up to her
Hmm, maybe she's not as crass as she tries to be.
The inside of the castle is a gorgeous sight. Stone floors, with a red carpet stretching from the doorway entrance up the stairs in front of me. Pictures of the king's family litter the walls in a very organized fashion. He must have had a skilled castle design expert show his maids how to set pictures and place furniture.
Sakura leads me down a tight hallway we squeeze by many maids and butlers on the way to what I guess is the Grand Hall. We reach a large room with a crazy beautiful chandelier made from enchantment crystals far past their expiration date.
Cardinal castle is not the biggest castle in the world, but it sure has to be the strongest. It's built into a mountainside while most of Cardinal City was built out from the mountainside. Sakura and I pass through a few more decorated halls with more paintings from popular artists from the Arttroshic period. Then at the end of a hall is a set of large silver doors.
My mind dances as I rush to the doors.
"No way, no way, no way!"
Running my hand across the cool smooth texture send ripples of intrigued to my brain. Looking back I see Sakura staring at me with contempt at my childish act of rubbing a door.
"Sorry, is this door made from New Metal!?" My voice cracks as my excitement bubbles over the spout.
Sakura shoulders rise and fall rapidly
"Sort of." She seems to notice my eyebrows curling as she continues.
"In short, yes we commissioned a very talented metalsmith to form us an enchanted New Metal door to protect the grand hall." Sakura says.
"Man, I know Ezikiel is the most powerful of the four kings. But to be able to find enough New Metal to make a full door has to be an historical achievement."
New Metal is mainly used for weapons and armor given to Knights and any King's close advisors. Usually as gifts. My comment brings a smirk to Sakura's stern demeanor. It quickly disappears as fast as I brought it on.
"Yes, New Metal was the man's life work collecting enough fragments to make something from them. Lord Ezikiel made it worth the man's while. The man will never want another day in his life."
Dropping a lot of eels for rare materials is a normal practice for any of the four kings. Plus there are only three master steel Smiths in all of Esterpine all now amongst the wealthiest Smith's in ancient history.
"Right, okay sorry let's go see the king now." Sakura sighs and takes two steps to the door.
"Right too much time wasted." She looks at me red eyes balanced with mine.
"Emelia, welcome to the council. Please be respectful to our King Ezekiel. Be mindful and please take a step inside." She places her hand to the door. I can feel the magical pressure in the air rise as Sakura releases a tiny bit of magic. Etchings on the door come to life and shine pink and with a whoosh of air the door clicks open.
I'm left with the full majesty of Cardinal Castles Grand Hall. The stone floor covered with a red carpet, the grand hall has no windows but has enchanted light sources, made with light magic infused in the enchanted stone held in copper holdings.
A bronze chandelier hangs above a large white round table. Multiple people are seated at it. There are nine seats but only five are seated. Sakura walks past me and makes her way to the king's side. He's seated in a large chair at the front of the rounded table. His chair seems to be made from a strong stone. A golden crystal crown sits on the table close to him.
Sakura reaches his side and whispers in his ear. The king looks up and smiles at me.
"Emelia good you made it. Glad to see our blacksmith made your armor fit nicely. Also, he patched up the few holes it had to." He has a smile that shines from the lights in the room. It seems to want to break off his chiseled chin.
Man the king is way too pretty.
"Okay, now that you're here Emelia let me introduce you to the few that are here. Then I'll try to quickly tell you what's going to happen." The king says. Scoping out the room I see the people in it.
Waiting for my cue to sit down I finally got one from the king.
"Please, in closed doors you do not need to treat me as King Ezikiel. I'm just a man in this room. Formalities can be left at the door." His smile is like a cavern of teeth.
Fates his smile is infectious. Need to be careful with that or he'll catch even me off, guard.
I pull up the seat at the end of the table and sit. Then I'm greeted by fourteen eyes.
Well here we go, let's see what's about to happen.
All the eyes turn back to the king as he clears his throat. My nerves prickle at my skin making it hard to focus.
I'm sitting at the Council of Nine the king's strongest wizards in Esterpine. From what Janet used to tell me, the only people who sit with Ezikiel at the Council table are his Nine, his elite guard.
Every other meeting is held in his study If I had to guess?
Ezikiel drones on for a minute about city boundaries and town maintenance but then his attention attunes to me.
"Emelia it's time to let you know what my plans for you are from here on out." He doesn't smile, his lips planted firmly in a line.
"Alright what do you have for me?" I ask.
A dark-skinned girl with dirty blonde hair in a white lab coat smirks devilishly." A king tells you your life is in his hands and that's your response? You're basically saying lay it on me, king. Whatever dire punishment you have please hit me with it!" Her voice peaks with dramatics at her last sentence.
"I concur with Rene, you don't know what our king has planned, why do you not beg?" Sakura asks me questioningly.
The other three don't say a word, just look to me for an answer.
"If he wanted me dead he would have had Sakura do it back in that prison cellar when he walked out."
All of them smile, some just nod.
Well I guess I passed whatever test they had for me.
"Emelia Shroud, tell me did you mean it back in the cell? Do you want revenge?" The king asks me his yellow eyes light up with passion?
No...excitement? Is that what his eyes are constantly screaming at me?
This is a test of my mettle. I'm a stranger basically sitting at a private trial to, plead my case? No He wants me to pledge myself to serve him.
Revenge is all I want. Will it get rid of their faces. Will hearing those bastards beg me for mercy drown out the noise.
"Yes, your kingship. Revenge is all I want right now." He nods. I've given him the answer he wanted.
"Okay, now I want the five of you to give your opinions. I'll get the other votes at a later time." He scans the table and leans back waiting for their answers.
First to speak up is a boy with a large sword strapped to his back. It has a dragon curled as the pommel with red stones as it's eyes. The sword has a faint hum of some kind of magic I don't recognize.
Hmm, weird don't know why I can't pinpoint the magic coming from his sword.... that's amazing going to ask him about it one day. He has to be a teenager like me or in his twenties at the least.
"Personally Zeke if she can fight I'm down for her joining." He doesn't even look up from sharpening his sword.
The king nods. "Very well that is a yes to Emelia at the vow of if she can fight." He points to Alva next.
"Alva care to give your opinion next?" He leans back again in his chair.
Alva sits like she's made of stone.
"I believe Emelia is too young and lacks the proper training." A pause from her.
"With saying that I will not object if she can prove that she is capable of protecting herself and the council." She looks at me, her vermillion-colored eyes smolder my very soul.
Man, she is every bit as terrifying as the storybooks and rumors tell. Actually, they don't do her presence justice.
The king nods.
"Very well, if Rene and Levi also agree to it then that will be all I need to make a decision for her to join," Ezikiel says.
Okay, I just kind of picked up on a keyword in all this. All three speakers have mentioned join. Join what exactly the army? Why does the council need to decide this?
I try to speak up but the black haired girl blurts out her answer. She stumbles a bit like she couldn't say the words fast enough.
"Absolutely I want her to join. We need a new member on the council anyway." And that was her whole answer.
Wait, Council?
The king looks past Rene to a small lanky boy in a fur cloak, leather armor way more sturdy than mine, as mine is meant to deflect sword slashes, and slow down arrows. His armor is designed for heavy-duty attacks. If he's a ranger then the armor is to protect him from monster claws, teeth, acid, poison, the latter. He has a bow strapped to his back, and a set of dangling keys on his belt loop.
"What are you thoughts, Prince of Rangers?" The king asks the boy he just simply nods.
"If you believe her to be an asset to our team then by all means count my vote as a yes."
The king nods. "That settles it then." He looks at me and smiles.
"Welcome to the Council Emelia Shroud."
"What....wait...what!" Really it's hard to hold back my scream but I just leave it at that.
The smile from the king doesn't dampen.
"You're not an official member until you've taken the test and vows. But you'll be given a mock test tomorrow." Ezikiel says.
"Tomorrow? So soon." My mind jumbles like a puzzle.
"Don't worry Emmy you'll come with me to my clinic and I'll make you as good as new for the battle tomorrow."
"Rene right?" I ask the girl's name and she smiles sweetly.
"Correct!" She answers.
She seems nice. Too nice maybe?
"Alright, I guess I'm in your care, Rene." I stand up and bow.
A hint of red tints her dark cheeks.
"Whoa silly no need to bow to me. I may be the leading doctor of the Kingdom. Helping those in need is my job but I'm not important at all." Her smile is broad and just as infectious as the kings
Leading doctor of the kingdom?
"Sorry, what do you mean of the Kingdom," I ask her.
"Oh, well Cardinal Kingdom is home to three hundred million people. So we have thousands of hospitals, clinics, and home lead physicians around the kingdom. Basically, they all report to me with reports, studies, finances, and all that boring flack." She smirks.
Probably because she can see my jaw on the floor.
Well she's pretty important, isn't she?Despite what she says. I'd wager all these guys definitely are important if they're sitting at the king's table.
Clap.
The clap seems to adjourn the meeting.
"Very well, last thing Emelia I'm going to introduce you to the council of nine. Well, the few that are here at the moment." He points to Rene.
"That's Rene as she mentioned. Head of the Practice of Medicinal and Science of Magic Research."
Rene waves.
Next, he points to Alva. "Alva here is the leader of the Council and is one of the strongest on this council."
Makes sense Alva is a legend; the stories of her strength I'm sure are well known across Esterpine. Along with her...reputation.
Next, he points to the boy with the massive sword, he is basically in simple attire, metal shoulders strapped to him, metal wrist guards, a black tunic, and military grade pants and ragged boots.
The outfit looks good can't deny the guy has some style.
"This is Evan, he is my Knight Captain." The boy smiles.
Oh boy, he's trouble.
He hops up from his chair flips his hair behind his head and walks to me. He stands above me with his I'm guessing about five foot ten frame. Bending down he grabs my hand and gives it a gentle kiss.
"Emelia, a pleasure." He then turns and goes to sit back down, a smile still plastered on his face.
A scoff behind me makes me turn to see Alva's eyes basically burning a hole through Evan.
He's nothing but all smiles.
Yup trouble.
"You've already been acquainted with Sakura and who she is. So I won't bother. So lastly this is Levi Hunt Prince of the Rangers."
I turn to the lanky boy named Levi once more.
"Hello, Emelia, glad to have you join us in our endeavors." He bows his head.
"You're a ranger, that's exciting you guys fight rouge monsters correct?" I ask Levi, he nods.
"A few Rangers made their way to Bladesfall a few times to clean up some monsters." The boy nods.
"Yes, we save cities, and provinces that have monster issues and anything too much for local militia to handle." He says.
"That's it for these few. I'd introduce you to the others but they are all off on their respective missions." The king says.
I take another gander at the room and realize that I wonder why the king would want me to join his team of very important people.
I raise my hand like I'm back in Janet's classroom waiting for her to answer my question. Not sure what the proper way to speak up is this seems to be a simple solution.
"Yes, Emelia, a question I take it?" His soft eyes soothe me a bit and I answer.
"Why do you want me to join the Council don't you already have nine? Everyone here is important in some way. Me? I'm just a girl from Bladesfall? Sure it's and important city but that doesn't mean I'm special enough to join the freaking Council of Nine!"
He bursts into a fit of laughter.
"Bahaha, oh my dear Emelia you are quite the catch. Now that I can tell you're innocent in the attack having you join my Council is nothing short of a blessing." I crook my eyebrow at him.
"Me a blessing?" The words of that woman echo in my head.
"You're a mistake!"
"Very much so, Emelia you're a Wind Elemental are you not?" The king asks me.
I just nod. "Yes, how did you know that?" He points to Rene.
"Me, I may be a doctor but I also study people's Auras which if you can read it right will tell you what magical affinity a person may have by color and the like."
She studies Aura. Very cool.
Everyone knows your Aura is basically your life force and is used as the measurement of your magical energy. Or if someone wants to be philosophical it's the measurement of your soul.
"If I'm also correct there's way more to you than just you're elemental magic correct?" Behind his eyes, he basically wants not a question but confirmation.
"I don't know, I just use my wind magic." He looks away.
"I've always just used Wind magic. What kind of question is that?" I ask Ezikiel he shakes his head.
"Oh don't listen to the cruning of an old man."
Fates is he so good at dodging questions. Very well I'll find out what he means for myself.
Rene clears her throat. "Elemental magic is the rarest form to be born with," Rene says her voice peaking at a high squeal.
"Only two of the same type of elementals can exist at a time.
Sometimes an elemental user will not even be born for centuries." Rene is basically bouncing in her chair with excitement.
The king clears his throat.
"Before Rene gets into one of her tangents you all may go. Emelia get plenty of rest for tomorrow. You're going to be in a one-on-one battle for your spot." I nod to him.
"Right, a test of strength that makes sense."
That's what Janet would do to new guards in the city and have them face the strongest the city had to offer.
The... strongest!
"Oh, no." My eyes grow wide.
The king grins.
"Yes, tomorrow you face Alva so be ready."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone