An airship sat in the Birch Grove Airport. A thousand of the Tree of Passionate Verdance’s disciples climbed up the onboarding ramp. A group made out of the sect’s core-disciples, and its highest-performing inner-disciples. Of course, all those disciples would need someone to watch over them and lower the odds of random calamity, or dark plots, befalling the sect’s highest performing youths. Thus Elder Trefor Pradhan found himself in the airship’s “Platinum lounge”. The lounge that was used by the sect’s elders and a few of the most promising core-disciples.

“So, how’ve you been?” said Trefor. Indolently, resting his chin on his knuckles. Trying to look as casual and carefree as possible, because having everyone know you had a crush on someone stopped being okay when you were in grade school. Past that it was just awkward, and maybe a bit detrimental, because it added a troublesome extra something to all interactions you had with that person. At best making interactions with that person uncomfortable, at worst, potentially making it seem like your every interaction with that person might have some ulterior motive. Especially, if there’s some jackass nearby who wants to color things like that.

High-Elder Miya Makoto sat across from Trefor. She was Trefor’s “crush”, as cringy as the term always felt in his head. She had been Trefor’s crush for the last twenty...maybe thirty years. At 6-foot-9, she was a few inches taller than Trefor, but he had a thing for tall girls.

Tall and slender with fair skin, Miya had a warm feeling about her, like a young Empress Dowager-to-be. Cunning, worldly, and matronly. She had a narrow face, a broad nose, and puffy lips. Her shining, dark, eyes were thin, and she had thick eyebrows. Her feathery black hair was long and thick, and was worn combed back. People threw around the phrase “beauty to start wars over”, but she’d actually once had two heads of state start a fistfight because of her.

At times, Elder Miya felt like she was everything that Trefor was not. Despite being more than a decade younger than Trefor was, Elder Miya was already a High-Elder of the TPV and a Core-Disciple of the FLD. Her overall competence, talent, and skill, almost made the birdkin-woman feel out of reach. However, as of late the gap between the two of them felt narrower. By some strange twist of luck, the Forest of Life and Death’s governing council, and Sect-Master, had decided to grant Trefor a minor promotion. Making him a High-Elder of the Tree of Passionate Verdance. Which was how Trefor had his current opportunity to try and casually chat up Elder Miya.

“Oh, I’m fine...I just got finished with a task for our Forest of Life and Death...It was one of those nightmarish jobs exploring the road to the realm of chaos. So while I probably would have preferred to just have some downtime, and maybe go into seclusion for a bit, doing a laid-back escort mission is pretty okay too,” said Elder Miya.

“Yeah, I hear you...Hopefully, this escort mission ‘stays’ laid-back,” said Trefor. Nodding. Acting as if the news that she’d walked the road that leads to the realm of chaos wasn’t one of the most insane things he’d ever heard.

“Heh, true...After all, this ‘is’ the big ten-year tournament...So maybe, I shouldn’t be kicking up my heels already,” laughed Elder Miya.

“Heh....” Trefor just laughed along with her. Not entirely sure why he was laughing, but glad to see that the conversation seemed to be going well.

The door of the Gold Lounge slid open and everyone reflexively took a look. The mood in the room changed a little as people saw who it was. Leading the way was a tall and stately woman, with pale skin and snow-white hair. Her ears were long and pointed. Her eyes were a luminous gray-blue. Her head was crowned by a pair of elegant, curling, black, ram’s horns. Behind the woman, was a man. A giant of a man. Great in height, and breadth, despite his lack of overt bulk. The only reason he didn’t have to stoop to get through the doorway was that the space around him seemed to bend and twist to allow his passage.

The man had dark skin, long dark hair, and eyes that were blacker than black. His expression was somber, and his sense of presence were greatly subdued, yet his looks were surprisingly dazzling, almost mesmerizing, almost paralyzing. Both the man and the woman were excessively, flatly inhumanly, beautiful. Like immortal sovereigns of the realms beyond their shattered world who’d come down to visit the little people. It took a good amount of time for the mood in the room to return to normal.