19 The Queens Journey, pt. 1 (1/2)
Jin placed his bag on the carriage specifically designated for equipment and the like. The company is structured in the following way. Three carriages form one caravan, led by five white horses, this caravan carries the enlisted, and the lower ranked soldiers, with one of the Saviors resting in the first cart, leading them.
The second caravan is equally formatted, holding the other elite knights, and the other two Saviors, who are sitting with the queen.
Jin makes sure that his equipment, a few daggers, his sword and Viscerin's bow, won't be slipping out of the bag. When he finishes, he turns, walks over to the side of the second cart, and finds Theresa waiting for him.
”Hop on.” She simply says, extending a hand to help him up.
Jin takes it, and in a moment, he's inside. He sits down next to Theresa, and looks forward. In front of him, are three other enlisted. One dressed in a black shirt, black plants and black hair, with brown skin, another in the middle, with the head of a snake and a hybrid body, something between an elf and a beast, and to his right, a woman dressed in steel armor, with blood red hair, and a slightly freckled face.
Theresa next to him, was staring at the girl dressed in black for some reason, while that girl in turn was trying her hardest not to make eye contact with the elf.
Meanwhile, the girl with the red hair, and the man with the snake's head were shooting each other glances every couple of seconds. But neither looked too happy with what they saw.
Without warning, the cart started moving. Jin turned, and saw the other caravan moving ahead of them.
He turned and got off his seat to peak out through the carriage's side. He saw the village moving farther and farther away. It dawned on him suddenly, that he could not even remember the village's name.
A hand fell on his shoulder, pulling him back into the carriage.
”You'll want to avoid doing that.” The girl with the crimson hair said, with an uninterested voice. ”If the cart makes a turn, and you have half your head out you'll fall.”
”Oh, sorry.” Jin chuckled, and rubbed the back of his head.
Quickly, the awkward silence resumed. The redhead had turned her attention to Jin only briefly before going right back to sneaking glances at the man with the snake's head.
”I take it my presence unsettles you?” The man said. He sounded young, Jin noted.
”Not at all.” The girl replied. ”Rather, I'm sure you must be pretty uncomfortable being surrounded by so many people loyal to your enemy.” He blinked.
”Are any of you loyal to Griffin's Sight?” He said.
”Of course not.” The girl replied.
”Then who here is loyal to my enemy?” The man said.
”So, you want us to believe you're seriously intending on fighting your own kind?” She said.
”My kind? The same people who enslaved me? Yes. Is it truly that difficult to understand why I may be a little biased against them?”
The girl looked away, but her expression told Jin she was still somewhat unconvinced.
Distracting himself from the awkward silence, he looked outside, without moving his entire body out like last time. His eyes widened.
It was beautiful.
Green as much as far as his eyes could see, with the sun above radiating brilliance unto the ground beneath it. There were forests in the distance, with strange birds migrating towards them.
Jin squinted his eyes when he saw something strange though. Shades of blue and grey mixed in with some strange looking mountains in that direction.
He tapped Theresa on the shoulder.
”Hm?”
”What is that? Over there?” The moving carriage made it a little difficult to accurately point at what he wanted her to see, but she seemed to understand.
”That, my dear, is snow.” Theresa said with a smirk.
”Snow?” Jin asked. He tried to recall the concept but nothing appeared in his memories.
”Over there, to the north is Farrah Valor. The demon nation. Daysinn Village is just below the edge of the border between Nova and Farrah Valor.” Theresa clarified.
”Have you ever been there?” Jin asked, still staring at the strange mountians. They looked like ants, but he could just barely make out their shape.
”Several times.” Theresa said. ”It's a place much unlike anything Nova's citizens know. You see, after the Great War several thousands of years ago, when a rogue mage interrupted the bloodiest war ever fought between elves and demons. I will spare the details this time, but simply put, both parties were left in horrendous conditions, and after eliminating the mage, they settled into a truce of sorts. They shook hands and split up, with the elves inhabiting the center of Azeria, creating Nova, and the demons moving up north. However, while they took over a similar amount of land, the demons and elves focused on different things during their rebuilding. The elves made sure to train anyone left alive in the arts of combat, mastering and creating all sorts of weapons, while the demons focused on technology, and magic. The result was that while Nova has since become almost an imprenetrable fortress, Farrah Valor is far more advanced than my homeland.”
Jin noticed that all three of the people sharing their company were listening to Theresa's words, their expressions captivated.
”To be honest,” the girl with the red hair said, ”I've never understood why the demons don't try their hand at invading Nova.”
”Truly, Decena?” Theresa asked with that signature smile of hers, ”this coming from a former knight? Or, is it precisely because you're a 'former' knight that you feel that way?”
”You know what I mean.” Decena replied with her arms crossed.
”Oh?” The boy with the snake head said, ”is that why you dislike me so much? You feel I may attack your former employer? Well, I'd say it is because simply having a superior technology does not mean they would be better tacticians, case in point, Nova clearly has much better technology than Griffin's Sight, yet, the war remains unsettled.”
”Are you bragging?” Decena replied.
”Of course not. I'm simply saying that sure, technology is important, whoever's got the biggest stick generally wins, but if you can't reach them, if they can handle their stick better than you can, that matters as well.”
Again, Decena didn't respond.
”What do you think?” Theresa asked the girl trying her hardest to crouch out of existence. The brown-skinned girl looked up, with a mixture of anger and shyness.
”About what?” She replied, with a voice so soft Jin barely heard it. However, he did pick up on her accent. By now, Jin had met people from several regions, except for Farrah Valor, but her accent was by far the most distinct.
”Would Farrah Valor beat Nova in a war?” Theresa asked.
”I don't care.” The girl replied. She rolled her ”r” in a strange way.
”Oh? Ah, I see. You only care about whose pockets you're going to rifle through next.” Theresa replied, smirking at her.
”Personally, I like her take.” The boy with the snake's head said. ”Better to focus on what you can control rather than what you can't.”
”Well, you're certainly boring.” Theresa said, causing the boy to laugh briefly.
”I apologize. I'm sure I'll find something entertaining to say soon.”
Jin ended up looking back towards that distant mass.
”Hey,” He said, looking back at Theresa. ”Where are we going?”
”Nova.” Theresa instantly responded.
”N-No, I mean, specifically. Like, where are we going through to get there? The queen said this would be a dangerous mission, but so far, I don't see it.”
”Well, we are just starting, dear.” Her tone changed slightly. She sounded more somber. ”The queen explained the path to me in detail while you were loading your stuff onto the caravan.” She shifted in her wooden seat to face Jin properly. He noticed that once again, the other inhabitants in the cart were locked in on her as she spoke.
”First, we will pass through the Guillotine Canyons. A space between two cliffs, specifically, covered in a silver fog. There should be a town just ahead of that place. Then, we will take the Midland Bridge to the Diamond Plains. From there, it's a straight shot to Nova. A straight shot that lasts a week, of course.” Theresa said.
”Guillotine Canyons.” The girl with the brown skin spoke. She looked down at the small bit of wooden ground in front of her, as though she were recalling something. ”We should not go there.”
”Why?” Theresa asked.
”That place, I know it. It lies northeast of Corona. My elders said it is haunted.”
There was a brief silence, up until Theresa laughed.
”What is your name, child?” Theresa asked.
”Mariana.” She replied.
”Mariana, ghosts are but restless spirits that couldn't find their way. A single Light Mage can do away with them. They are pests. Even if it were haunted, it would not be of any consequence to us.”
Mariana didn't respond.
”So confident in your abilities, are you?” The boy with the snake's head said.
”Well, my dear...”
”Ker'Tallen.”
”Yes, do you know whom you are speaking to?” Jin saw Decena roll her eyes.
”Of course. Theresa, of House Varys.” The elf seemed viscerally shocked. ”I pieced it together the moment you said you walked alongside the queen. 'The Queen's White Flame' they call you. The stories about you reach farther than you know.”
”I'm more surprised that a boy as young as you has heard of me.” It was Ker'Tallen's turn to be shocked.
”How can you tell?” He asked. He was right to wonder that. Ker'Tallen's body was very much that of a grown man's, and his indecipherable skin texture didn't help.
”Your scales.” Theresa explained. ”It seems your story about being a slave is true, this is something Griffins are taught at a young age. I learned it from a Griffin friend I had once. The brighter the scales, the younger you are. Or, if you're a wolf-man, the brighter your fur, and so on.”
Ker'Tallen placed a hand on his chin.
”Want me to guess?” Theresa asked.
”Sure. How old am I?”
”Twenty.” Theresa said.
”Close, but no. I'm eighteen.”
As the rumbling accumlated, Jin's head fell on its own. His vision grew increasingly blurry, and suddenly, things went black.
Decena's POV.
”I'll be back in a moment.” The redhead told Theresa as the enlisted gathered around a campfire. The crickets serenaded her as she walked back towards the carriages. She went back where she had been, and inside the open cart, she found the boy she'd been looking for.
Most people look somewhat silly, or more innocent when asleep. This boy looked exactly the same. Decena walked up to him, and patted his cheek.
”What is it?” He mumbled.
”They're starting to cook, you don't get up, you'll miss out.” Decena said.
”What are they cooking?” He was sleep-talking.
”Just careth legs. That was all the hunters could find. Decena shrugged, as if the boy could see it.
”Ugh.” He replied.
”Yeah, this won't do.” Decena said to herself, before grabbing the brown-haired boy by the shoulders and pulling him up.
”Wha!? I'm up, I'm up.” He complained.
”Yeah right. Now, go.” Decena told him, pointing at the campfire. The boy looked around for a moment before spotting Theresa, and walking over to her.
Decena sighed, and began walking back to get a meal of her own, when she caught a slight movement out of the corner of her eyes. She looked to her right, and found Mariana crouched behind a bush, with her hand on her stomach.
She was nearly invisible in the night. And so, Decena walked up to her.