Close to the palace, in the sanctuary of the Noble town Zeron, Lore and Ivy were paying their respects to their fallen. Tears fell, cries were heard, maybe even a few of the chairs flipped over. Promising to do and be better should there be a next time. Ivy left the sanctuary to see the illuminated crystal lights of the town giving off enough light for her to immediately notice. Her head was down, sad that she couldn't join Alloy for that evening, but she had an idea of how she would make up for it. She couldn't head to the palace again until her patrol was over and done with. She wondered why, considering Qete's men already covered quite the area in Navi.
"COMMANDER LORE!!!!" A voice ran toward them, interrupting her thought process. The knight was clearly from Trogan's squad. Evident by the fact that no one else really took to asking for Lore's help, unless the king himself ordered it, that is.
"Yes??" Lore said, walking out of the sanctuary as well, but still in tears. As a commander, she knew her duties, she knew accepting death was part of them. But because of how she grew up… death has always had an effect on her processing toward it, forcing her to tear up and sometimes even weep for hours on end, despite knowing the deceased for a few days. Her tears were held back whilst in front of the king, but she just let them go after she arrived to see them, after the families had gone home with a promise to handle their burials with the greatest care for them. Ivy gave her a tissue that she took quickly as the messenger told her the news.
"Commander Lore!! Commander Trogan asks for your assistance!! We have gotten word of the Night Forest being cut down rapidly and randomly."
"Did they see anyone??"
"No. But the forest has an odd glowing pulse, it is feint, but we wish to investigate it right now. Trogan-san is waiting for your signal."
"Signal??" She asked. Just then, a loud sound, the sound of thunder, emerged from her left, slightly far away where the bridge that led to Gar was. Yes. It was already activated. Upon hearing this… Ivy had an idea of what was going on.
"He told me to tell you that this is not a request. He is already activating the Rale bridge as we speak."
"Yeah, I can see that." Lore replied. "Ivy, get a few knights who didn't join us last night. If that is Perilius, we're taking back that sword."
"Okay." She said as she ran toward the barracks. It wasn't far, just a few minutes of walking was enough.
At the same time, Eliza was leaving the palace. Her business with Zed had concluded, and she was on a night stroll since she didn't see the point of heading back to Navi at night when she also has a room in the palace. She saw Ivy head into the barracks, and waited for her to get out. She didn't take any time, she ran in, shouted the commander's orders, and ran out to bump into her.
"E… Eliza??" She said.
"What's all the commotion about??" She asked with her gentle smile.
"We may have found Perilius, we are headed to the Night Forest to find out."
"Are Trogan and Lore racing again??"
"What do you think??" Ivy said, slightly nervous and completely sarcastic. Eliza chuckled it off.
"Okay, how are Lore's wounds??"
"They have healed completely thanks to the oil you gave her."
"I'm glad, you may go."
"Great," she looked back and made only two steps before she asked. "What's Alloy doing right now??"
"I'm not sure, but Zed did say he was going to her after I spoke to him."
"Thanks." She said, running off to the stables as fully armored knights followed from the barracks. Eliza didn't see the need to interrupt Alloy and her father's time with this update, so she decided on what to do. She moved to the guards of the Zeron bridge, right next to Lore and her party as they got ready to leave in a mere five minutes. Lore activated the bridge with the key, and since another bridge was already opened, the currents were moving faster around the entire palace, forcing an almost immediate activation of the Zeron bridge. From that distance, Lore could already see a cloud of dust from the dry sands of the path to Gar that extended to its right, making a path to the Night Forest as well. Trogan and his party had already started their journey to the forest.
"Let's go, everyone!!" Lore ordered.
"YEAH!!" They roared in response. And they left, Lore ahead with her horse, Ivy to her right, atop Macha, and a small band of knights behind them. Eliza stayed next to the guards at the entrance so she could see the two competing commanders. 'Noble commanders who compete like children.' She thought as she sighed. 'Zed, this is your fault. You've made this place so peaceful over the decades.' She chuckled, walking toward the rocks near the edge of the Noble town. Some of the guarding knights began worrying for her safety, asking the other what to do. He decided to simply ask.
"Eliza-sama…"
"Yes??" She replied, distracted from her thoughts.
"A… are you okay??"
"Yes. Why do you ask??" She stood.
"B… because…. you're on the edge of the town!!" The knight exclaimed, shaking, fearing for his life should anything happen to the king's sister while on his watch. "Please… please move back. I will assist you." He said, making two very minimal steps toward her.
"I'm okay. Thank you, dear." She replied, facing the other side and sitting. Confused… he had to ask.
"Eliza-sama, may I ask why??"
"What do you mean??"
"Why are you sitting here specifically?? We could bring you a chair on solid ground."
"No thank you, come here."
"Huh?? Why??"
"You ask a lot of questions dear, get over here and watch with me."
He walked toward her and when the view was clear enough, his realization caught him dumbfounded. 'Is… is she watching the commanders race??!!'
"Who do you think will win??" She asked him.
"HUUUUUUUHHHHH??!!" The knight thought out loud. Three other knights arrived to check what was going on after the bridge closed.
"I think Lore will win… she's lighter and her horse is the fastest in her entire squad." He replied.
"Good." She turned her head to them, smiling, she looked at them with a sideways angle and asked, "Do you guys gamble??"
"WHAT??!!??!!??!!" They all shouted in surprise.
*****
The two arrived at the king's training room, access was only granted by either Zed's drift, or direct access from Naja. He wished to do this more often, spar… it was a way to know what each other was feeling, building more of a connection between two duelists than an urge to win, however, Alloy mostly wished to win in order to prove her power to Zed. She loved him as a father, but it was sad, knowing he was the same obstacle to a chance at her dream. She skipped to the room in excitement, sure that she had a new chance at proving her strength.
The doors to the room opened after Zed placed his hand on the obsidian wall next to it. Alloy had been there many times before, it was a form of Zed's parenting, since she couldn't listen during her tantrums, she opted for fighting him, given she was beaten every time, she got to understand a bit where Zed's feelings and reasoning lay. He never said no without a reason, and she came to know this later on… thing is… she sometimes didn't care what the reason was.
The luminescent room glowed all sorts of barrier runes on the entire obsidian surface. It covered the top to the bottom as well as side to side, the runes were made by Qete, Naja and Eliza working together. Qete had a serious affinity to runes, Naja knew how best to design the room, and Eliza had to make sure the essence of the king's drift was perfectly balanced within the runes so as to prevent the need for constant repair. The runes were etched into the obsidian walls, capable of absorbing and stabilizing Zedlis' power and preventing collateral damage. He mostly trained alone, to make sure his abilities and skill stayed on par with the kingdom's reputation. The two walked toward each end of the room.
"Zed… why don't we have guilds in this country??" Alloy asked. Preparing a slight stance with her feet.
"I've never told you??" He asked. Sarcastically. He didn't need a stance, he was free.
"Don't start…"
"Well… you aren't a child anymore," He said as he signalled her to come at him. "Land a hit on me and I'll tell you." He held out his hand. "And this time…" A silver and golden spear formed purely from lightning on his palm. He gripped it and twirled it around his fingers.
"It'll be harder than before." He said. Hitting the spear's bottom on the ground with a loud thud. It fuelled her, her eyes sharpened, dulling the blue that made them sparkle with her happiness. Her hands began emitting shadows like smoke from a flame, the shadows then formed themselves into two katanas which she gripped with determination more than her skill. With her stance ready, she lunged straight at Zed.