“I now name you, Sir Eric Archibald.”

~

I removed that stifling bow-tie the moment we left the ballroom. Man, finally over! Volt and Pyro, the Garrans, and of course Dawn were knighted as well. It was an amazingly simple thing – the knighting itself – but the protocols we had to follow in front of so many witnesses were more tiring than intentionally keeping your mana low for spell conditioning. I’d usually be a lot more casual with Methelia’s royalty.

The two main reasons we were knighted was of course for Ashfur, which somehow became our most popular achievement, but also for Liana, which was more recently brought to light but hadn’t truly caught fire on the tongues of the masses yet. All they knew was that killing Liana saved countless lives. Of course, the queen made her husband mention a lot of other smaller things we did. In her eyes, this knighting was long overdue.

A couple months passed and we finally had some councilmen to fill in, and Volt was pretty much ready to totally take control. I decided it was time. That’s right boys and girls, it was time for a new adventure, and I knew the perfect place for it! Dawn and August packed nothing because I could transmute things easily, but August did give us ten rings each – yup, for Donna too. One ring gave three percent intellect, one percent strength, and one percent agility. ‘Primary attributes’ according to him. His on the other hand had agility at the forefront.

Just to be knowledgeable of his abilities, I had a little spar with him and felt like I was fighting Moken. His quint usage reached a staggering seventy percent thanks to his quint-enchanted rings. He punched through Ice Walls like they were nothing, even Earth Walls stood next to no chance of stopping him. But I was just a bad match for him to attack. Magnet, Retrace, Divergence, Convergence, an annoying Frost Trap now and again. Heck, if I just used Voidwalk, he’d be stumped. Me attacking him on the other hand was a little different. Phoenix Wave did nothing but scratch him. Chain Lightning was the same. Hand of God might have stunned him for a second or two, but no real damage. Only the likes of Arm of God and upward had any effect, and during a real battle, I’d simply use Wrath of God as a starter.

~

“Right, so, we ready?” I asked after Dawn pummelled me with a million and one questions about the safety of that relic. Yeah, I found the Diadem of Lunacy and put it on. Turned out you can create a portal with it to another world or something like that. I told her a million times that I tried it before and was able to safely return here with no problem. Our parents just figured we were going on a long mission somewhere, and August’s parents were just fine with him coming along. I had a four-month deadline in which to return, otherwise I’d miss Mary’s child-sprouting – not that I wanted to see it.

The portal opened up and I took the crown off, and quickly jumped through with them. We reappeared in an underwater cove. Beautiful golden sands with clear lazuline water surrounding us and mossy walls encasing everything.

Water Elementals guided us out easily until we pulled up on the shore.

“Woah! How’d you guys swim so fast?!” Some kid saw us swim out. The straw hat, toothpick and makeshift fishing rod made it feel like he was a usual around these parts. That boat docked on the sand beside him definitely concreted that idea as well as tell us there were probably adults around somewhere. “I was here the whole time!” His forced guttural voice yelled, “How come I didn’t see you go in?” He then gasped, “Were you breathing underwater?! Are you fish people?! By the light! Wait, why are you so dry?!”

This kid talked at an impressive speed. He was up on us now. August patted his head and laughed, “Well, you won’t believe this, but, we swam so fast the water couldn’t keep up!”

“Do you think I’m a fool?” The kid slapped his hand away, “Who’d believe that nonsense? Let’s face it. It’s only because you’re fish people that you’re still dry!”

This boy was giving us mini-heart attacks because we didn’t want to bring any kind of attention to us so early on, especially since we were ignorant of this place.

Dawn took charge, “Shh,” she put a finger to her lips, “you’ve figured us out, but don’t tell anyone, okay? It’ll be our little secret!”

He made an overly overt wink, “I got ya, sis!”

Good thing he didn’t see the elementals…

“Can you tell us where the nearest town is?”

“Yeah, yeah! Just keep walkin’ along the beach and there’s this road and some big signs! Oren is where I live! And if you keep going you’ll get to Ansul!”

“Hmm? What’s Ansul?”

“What?!” He was a bit taken aback, “Only the bestest paladin city ever!” or so we thought. “When I grow up, I’m gonna be the strongest paladin ever!”

We were all pretty lost at what the hell a ‘paladin’ was, but some men were encroaching far off in the distance and we decided to split.

The kid mentioned that Oren was where he lived, so we figured maybe we’d find a cheap inn there and do a bit of work in exchange for the beds. Well boy, were we wrong.

“These houses look better than your palace, Donna,” Dawn smirked at her and we all shared a little laugh. Now, to be fair, this little ‘town’ looked like a little city. The houses were marvels of architecture and engineering. It was downright ridiculous how posh everyone’s houses were. Even the damn stables looked like it was made to house some spoiled rich brat. Most houses were white with yellow accenting certain parts like columns, doorframes, or windowpanes. If they didn’t follow that same colour scheme, then bet your ass it was a really bright colour. The roads were paved perfectly, not a tile out of place. The entire place was immaculately clean. And quiet. Boy was it quiet, at least apart from people having some small talk on the street. This place just oozed relaxation.

Not minding ourselves sticking out like sore thumbs because of our peculiar clothing choice compared to these people, we asked around for directions to an inn and made our way there.

“Everyone’s so nice here,” Dawn commented.

“Yeah, and,” August quite literally asked a couple on the street to feel their muscles, “super fit. It’s crazy, man! Everyone’s so athletic. Bulging muscles everywhere. Instead I just have fat muscles,” he hung his head in shame.

Finally, we entered the inn and I let Dawn do the talking. When asked to pay, we were presented with a little white orb. Looked like a supersized version of a pearl from a clam, probably as big as someone’s head.

“Uh so, might not have been obvious but, we’re not from around here? So…”

“Well, it’s quite simple, miss. You merely place your hand on the sphere and the payment will be made.” The man in the white coat explained, assuming this was common knowledge throughout.

“No, what I’m saying is…” she trailed off when she noticed the perplexed look the man gave her and simply placed her hand on the sphere as directed. After a couple seconds, the man had an even more confused look in his eyes.

“Why isn’t it working?” he muttered to himself, picking the orb up, “My sincere apologies, madam,” he apologised while inspecting it, then gave yet another raised brow as he found there were no issues with the sphere itself. “Forgive my assumption, madam, but, perhaps you did not focus your quintessence?”

She laughed, then I laughed, and we both turned to look at August. So, the blacksmith did as our eyes suggested and placed his palm on the big payment pearl. It lit up brightly and began emitting a high frequency sound. The man, as if not tiring of being shocked, gasped in surprise and dropped the orb, attracting some residents that idled around in the lobby.

He suddenly bowed, “Great paladin, forgive me for not recognising one of such magnificence earlier! Please, feel free to stay as long as you wish in our humble abode at no charge!”

As we made ourselves at home in the most luxurious room I’d ever seen, Donna came out. “We need a walking encyclopaedia of this land. Whatever these ‘paladins’ are probably wouldn’t take kind to you lot impersonating them. And did we even need to stay in an inn? We could’ve just camped.”

“Tsk, tsk,” I shook my head, “we’re here for an adventure woman, we gotta see and experience as much as we can, right? So, quit worrying and just enjoy the moment.”

I told her that, but I knew she was totally correct. Hiding that we were mages was also a pain in the ass, so I revisited that plan. We’re here for enjoyment, right? Adventure! So, we should just do what we want, right? Furthermore, this seems to be a place where quint is as common as currency. Maybe we should head out to Ansul earlier and see what the big city is about.

“Wait a minute! Why the hell did he let you in with the claymore on your back?!” I suddenly sat up and asked. Aug shrugged, as if he himself didn’t even think it strange.

There was nothing to do here, but at least we learned how to purchase lodging and other items should we need it. The clothing stores we visited had the exact same sphere our inn had so it looked to be a widespread thing. Our helper picked out some stuff and we simply chose what we liked best, but it seemed long coats were the trendy thing at the moment. Dawn and I got one, representing our true call as magic fashionistas. August went with the less traditional stuff and kept with things that made movement easy. Donna’s clothes would be made by me when we would leave for Ansul.

We finally came out the store and over yonder a forced voice slammed into our ears, “It’s the fish people!” The boy ran over the street to us, excitement mounted in his veins but he just slowed down, as if not knowing what to do when he got close to us. “I was gonna jump on you guys but then I remembered I have a big bag on fish on me!” he chortled. And he really wasn’t kidding. Like, the bag was huge, bigger than him even, but he carried it around like a diva carrying her clutch – effortless.

“Hey, kid, what’s your name?” I asked the overzealous but welcomed boy.

“I’m Frank! What are your names?” he asked the group and that’s when his father – I knew because the resemblance was indisputable – walked over, and another guy around our age followed. They also had big bags slung over their shoulder.

“Has my boy caused you trouble?” the man inquired.

“Not at all. In fact, he’s been very helpful. We’re travellers you see and we–”

The man’s eyes bulged at the statement, or so I thought, but he was looking right at August. He suddenly bowed, “O’ gracious light-bringer, you bless us with your presence.”

Interesting… we could, get somewhere with this little misunderstanding. Suddenly, I began thinking of building connections and making allies, facilitating meetings and discussing the benefits of trades.

“Wow, who are you?” Donna teased, “Are you sure you wanted to give up rank six in the Order? Because those are some adult thoughts you’re having – not the sexual kind of course.”

“Can we,” I stole their attention, “have a private discussion?”

And that’s how we ended up in a fisherman’s house being served lunch. What a big happy family they were, treating three total strangers to lunch. Although, I believed a big part of them making that decision was because of the realisation that August was a paladin, whatever that was.

“Hydra’s a–” Dawn hit me before I said an inappropriate word at the table, “–art… this is delicious!” I went on to compliment their cooking. Looks like the mother had passed away based on the little decoration of her painting in the living room. Heck, this place was nearly as fancy as the inn.

“So,” August began, and the man and his older son paid utmost attention, “can I level with you?”

“Yes, of course, paladin.”

“I’m not a paladin…”

The place reeked with silence for a while until he began laughing, softly then gradually becoming louder and ending with a sigh. “That explains your lack of,” he paused, “mannerisms. Usually paladins are a little snobbish. But, how do you have that much quintessence?!”

“Sorry, I’m not at the liberty to discuss that. But, I have a question. Have you ever heard of strange people called mages?”

“Mages?” he wiped his teeth with his tongue as he thought about it, “They’re just legends. Rumours from our ancestors. It is said they can commune with the spirits and control the elements of nature.”

August nodded his head in understanding, “And how do you think people would, you know, react, if mages were to be real?”

“This is Hyzek, we’re competitive, but I guess certain people would try to get their hands on them.”

Intriguing! “Okay, my dude, listen. This place, this Hyzek, is actually another world. Where we came from, is home to many mages. Now, I’m gonna need someone to explain a heck of a lot of stuff to me about Hyzek…”

~

We tread under the scorching sun the next day. Aldrich, Frank’s older brother accompanied us on our adventure. He was our, what-not-to-do guide while in Hyzek and in exchange, August would train him. Yup, they blasted us with so much information my brain started to melt. So, we somehow ended up having a portable information man.

After hours of walking, I grew tired of the pace and cast Summon Zephyr. I’d be damned if we took a decade getting to Ansul on foot. Aldrich groaned, he wanted us to lay low at least at first, but I figured we’d meet whatever challenges we encountered head on.

We encroached the entrance of the city and Aldrich made sure we didn’t fly into the place. The place had buildings as tall as mountains and others as wide as lakes. The white and yellow scheme of things followed into the city, with a few buildings going with off but still bright colours. At least that’s would I could see with Hawk Eye while we were in the air. The zephyr landed, it’s hawkish whistle attracting even more people who didn’t see or hear it land. The minute we dismounted, it went back to the spirit world.

“Let’s go eat,” I complained like a kid, stamping my feet.

“Aldrich, I’m hungry!” Dawn chimed in.

“Feed us!” August cried.

Aldrich had very thin tolerance and was easily annoyed, so we fell in love with teasing the guy in our short time together. “Shut up you, asses! You’re the one with the stupid amount of quintessence,” he pointed at August, “you do it!”

We all chuckled together when he furiously walked into Ansul. Despite our playfulness, we actually did settle into a pub-like restaurant to eat, sponsored by our very own Aug of course. We got very strange looks on our way there despite trying to blend in with our new clothes.

“Hey, girl,” a young man, probably around Pyro’s age clad in plated silver armour began hitting on Dawn, “how’s about you lose these low-lives and come have fun with me, huh?” he gently touched her chin and made her face him.

Now, let’s get this clear, no matter how much someone hit on Dawn, I’d never get mad at the person, because that’s their choice and they’re fully entitled to try. But what I had an issue with is someone putting a hand on my girlfriend. A wave of energy emanated from me. The young man shook and unsheathed his sword in reflex, spinning around and gaining distance in one fell swoop when he felt that power come from behind him. Yet, when he tried to find where it came from, he’d just see the startled looks of other patrons and a very docile-looking Eric. The second Dawn sensed me about to explode, her eyes alone told me not to, so I let this – whatever this was – play out.

“What was that ghastly feeling?” he muttered, much of the other customers probably also thought along the same lines. He shook it off, his ego demanded he did so that he could impress Dawn with his unfettered confidence.

“I only allow men with great strength to,” she paused, “accompany me.”

August and I looked to each other and shrugged, then we looked around and found that other people simply ignored how ridiculous this man was acting. What’s Dawn thinking?

“I assure you, my lady, that I am the undisputable strongest of Ansul, probably the world,” he leaned in on her side of the table with one arm, placing his free hand on the back of hers, “you will know the prowess of the greatest to exist.”

Another wave of my power pulsed forth and it became a little more difficult to conceal my anger. Suddenly, I found his sword pointed at my neck, “Who are you and what is that vile power you use?!”

Before I could begin kicking his ass, Dawn intervened, “Sorry, it looks like you’re not the strongest after all. If you were, you wouldn’t feel threatened enough to draw your sword because of some trick he used, now would you? Now please, leave us.”

He growled, anger endowed, and kicked the table down.

“Aw, man! The food!” August complained, his priorities very clear. I was now at boiling point because my palm was already facing the damned fool, ready to blast him away. It took every ounce of strength to simply relax, and not follow through. I didn’t notice at the point, but Aldrich was frozen in place, so maybe this man was someone important, but he sure seemed to place low importance on his life to do something as suicidal as annoy us.

“Shut up, sow! And you…” his voice rumbled in anger and he grabbed me by the collar and lifted me up easily with one arm. And, that was it. That was enough to make my tolerance crack. Discharge stunned him just enough for him to unhand me and a focused Divergence sent him flying out the window and into the streets. Levitate quickly carried me to the exit.

The man, extremely quick to get back on his feet, launched a surprise attack on me as I neared the door, but only managed to tumble back inside the place because Magnet made him pass right through me. With another Divergence, this time utilising its absolute versatility and freedom, pushed him out of the place again and his body wildly rotated in every which way, spiralling through me once again and landing in the street, damaging the base of a lamp post. His persistence was great, but what could he do against Convergence? A Convergence orb left him hanging upside-down in the middle of the street, unable to grab onto anything to escape.

“A sword is a very dangerous thing in the hands of child,” I commented and glided back inside with the blade, entrusting it to the owner of the place until Mr Smooth’s timeout was up.

“Shut up you damned devil! Do you have any idea who I am?! Do you?! You’re dead! You hear me?! You and your little woman!”

I simply ignored him, used another Convergence to gather the pieces of broken glass and used Transmutation to stitch the matter back together, effectively repairing the window. “The orb will disappear by tonight.”

That day, we spent it as normal tourists. Sightseeing, shopping at August’s expense, drinking, gambling, enjoying Ansul’s nightlife. We had a blast, Aldrich included. Of course, Donna couldn’t, and wouldn’t dare resist. We woke up the next morning to an invitation from the innkeeper whose inn we slept at. It was a beautifully decorated envelope with equally fancy writing in the letter. Aldrich read it out for us, and as he did, his eyes kept bulging more and more.

“I’m not going! That’s it, I’m done!” He was assertive, then complain, “I can’t even control you guys! How do you even drink so much?! Dammit!”

“Come on! Be a good sport! You know we can’t survive without you,” I jested.

“This,” he held the invitation upright then slammed it onto our dresser, “is an invitation to die! After what you did to his son, an Ansullar of all people, don’t think you’re going to live to see tomorrow! I’m leaving Ansul right now, and I suggest you do the same!”

“His son? Who’s that brat’s dad?”

He suddenly swung around before leaving the room, “The paladin of Ansul, you fucking degenerates!”