Kingdom of Esperanto

Southern District

King Esperanto’s head spun from the rollercoaster of emotions he had experienced in just a couple hours. Earlier in the morning, he was informed about an escalating buildup of hostile forces outside the Kenshiva Valley, which placed the nearby Kals district in grave danger. Then, he received news of an unknown party of humans and a single elf roaming the wilderness beyond civilization — unheard of ever since the founding of the kingdom itself. What’s more, they claimed to be from Topa and even offered assistance to fend off the monstrous horde that was targeting Kals.

He now found himself in the local keep, absorbed in a meeting with these foreigners. Three men sat across from him: Ambassador Meyer, Captain Baker, and an elven knight — Sir Moah. Together, they represented an expedition from a country near the continent of Rodenius, hailing from the United States of America. Curiously, the ancient texts never mentioned a vast landmass near Rodenius, convincing Esperanto that their ludicrous claims may be true.

The elf explained, “According to our ancient texts, the legendary hero Kenshiva returned to Topa several months after their initial departure. He told us of their success in defeating the Demon Lord, and the sacrifices of his comrades. The Alliance leaders at the time asked Kenshiva what became of his escorts – Esperanto’s army. He said that he ordered the army to return to Topa. That is when the Alliance began its searches. Kenshiva dedicated his final months to retracing his steps in an effort to find Esperanto’s army, to no avail. After Kenshiva’s passing, the alliance continued searching for years, but eventually had to stop, in order to preserve resources for the rebuilding of civilization.”

“That is… incredibly fascinating. We thought you had abandoned us, or worse, perished,” he remarked. Although he was interested in these newcomers, he did not allow himself to be distracted. Following a brief pause to digest the new information, he swept aside his inconsequential questions in favor of tackling the exigent situation at hand. “I would indeed like to learn more, but there are more pressing concerns at the moment, as you have mentioned earlier. You expressed a desire to aid in our defense, yes?”

“That is correct,” Ambassador Meyer said. He nodded to Captain Baker, who then produced several photographs of the monster encampment. “These images were taken several hours ago, and it looks like they’re preparing to move within a day. With your permission, we want to eliminate this threat before proceeding with our original mission of establishing relations with you and your people.”

Esperanto looked at Mortes, who muttered under his breath, “Your Highness, we can’t be so quick to trust these people. For all we know –”

Esperanto cut him off, holding up a hand. “I know, I know. These people could be part of some elaborate deception masterminded by Darkshield.” He closed his eyes, releasing a deep breath as he considered his options. “Hmm, if we rule out bringing them inside the walls, would it be acceptable to have them reposition to the Kals district by skirting along the edges?”

Mortes maintained his concerns, but agreed to the compromise with heavy reluctance in his eyes. “... That sounds reasonable. If they do turn out to be in league with the forces of Darkshield, then I would prefer to fight on a single front rather than two fronts.”

“It is settled, then.” King Esperanto turned to face the foreigners. “You have our permission to provide aid. However, you cannot pass through our territory. You must remain along the outer boundary of the wall.”

Ambassador Meyer leaned over, whispering to Captain Baker, “Is that possible?” He remembered that the kingdom itself was situated next to a mountain range, the terrain of which could impede transportation.

“Honestly,” Baker answered, “I don’t think so, Mister Ambassador. We could get close, but at some point the trails and paths are gonna be too narrow to fit the vehicles. It’ll take hours to get around, if it is even possible at all.”

Meyer sighed in defeat, “What about air support? Will we be fine leaving the vehicles here if we have air support?”

“We should be. Let me check for availability,” Baker said. He radioed the USS America.

After a series of hushed whispers and garbles, Meyer asked, “So what did they say?”

Baker shook his head, “They just informed me that all units are busy clearing out the southern part of the continent. It’ll take them at least six hours before they can rearm, refuel, and get here.”

“That’s alright. We can wait six hours, right?”

“No, no,” Baker’s voice became slightly distressed. “They also told me that the camp is beginning to move. We might expect an attack within five hours.”

Meyer kept his head low, revealing nothing to the king. “Shit,” he muttered under his breath. “I can try to convince the king by letting him know an attack is imminent, but he has no reason to trust us.”

Baker shrugged. “We have no other choice, Mister Ambassador. This is our best shot.”

Meyer turned to face the king, but felt a tap to his left.

“If I may, Mister Ambassador,” Moah said.

“What is it?” Meyer asked.

He held promise in his eyes, as if a lightbulb was shining atop his head. “I believe I can get the king to place his full trust in us.”

“How would you do that?”

Moah produced several copies of ancient texts, which included photographs of the old Emissaries of the Star God.

Meyer’s eyes widened in realization. He smirked, patting Moah on the back. “That’s an excellent idea.”

“Thank you,” Moah said as he stood up to present the texts to King Esperanto. “Your Highness, I believe there is an urgent matter regarding the origin of these Americans that you may wish to know. I know time is of the essence, but I still think that this information may prove crucial in the near future.”

King Esperanto was interested in what the elf had to say. “Very well, Sir Moah. Make it quick.”

Moah bowed slightly. He drew the king’s attention toward a photograph that depicted ranking officers of the old Emissaries standing beside the legendary heroes, posing for a group photo. “In this photograph, there is a flag situated behind the group. This flag is also present on the Emissaries’ clothing. May I bring this closer, Your Highness?”

“Yes. Let me have a look,” Esperanto said, stretching an arm. He grabbed the image and placed it on the table in front of him while the elf stood over it, pointing to the flag.

“This flag,” Moah explained, “Is the same one worn by the Americans here.”

Esperanto looked up and inspected the American uniforms. Sure enough, the insignias matched those present in the photograph. Realization dawned on him as he verified Moah’s claims.

Moah continued, “After several weeks of research, we were able to prove that the Americans and the Emissaries are the same. The original Emissaries were a group of Americans who were summoned from their home world to defeat the Demon Lord. Now, their entire nation was summoned to — hypothetically — defeat the Ancient Sorcerous Empire when they return.”

“The Ancient Sorcerous Empire… Good heavens,” Esperanto remarked. “In that case, why have you lot come to the furthest corner of the world? Make no mistake, I’m grateful that the Emissaries themselves have come to aid us, but surely this can’t be your primary, nor original, reason?”

“That assumption is correct, Your Highness,” Meyer announced. “Our mission in the Grameus continent is to explore the region and locate any items of interest. However, while conducting a basic aerial survey, we happened across signs of civilization — your kingdom. We then made it our priority to establish contact.”

“I see,” Esperanto said. “I must discuss this new information with my trusted knight.” He turned to Mortes, who now seemed less tense. “Mortes, I finally realize why these foreigners seemed so familiar; there is no denying that these people are indeed the Emissaries themselves. It would be disrespectful to refuse their wishes.”

“I agree, Your Highness.” Although he still felt some suspicion, most of it subsided thanks to Moah’s enlightening explanations, which corroborated their own initial thoughts about the foreigners. Not wishing to be the one man who defied the legendary Emissaries, he relented, “We cannot close the gates to the Emissaries. We must apologize.”

Esperanto nodded, agreeing with his knight’s judgement. “Mister Ambassador, I must apologize for not having recognized your identities. I will have the gates opened up for your people immediately.”

Meyer smiled, hiding his internal relief. “Excellent. And Your Highness, I recommend we hurry. The monsters have begun to move.”

——

Kals District

Saffine smiled at the knight who once again stopped by her manor to court her. She remained friendly on the outside, unable to find the will to tell the man that she couldn’t give her heart to him. She pitied him, wondering how she could convey this information while she tuned out his sweet-talking. In a strange turn of events, a new feeling replaced her disinterest and pity for the knight. Bright optimism coursed through her veins out of nowhere, just as a rumbling sound emerged from the district gates.

Clouds of dust rose into the air, trailing behind a mass of strange, horseless carriages. Feeling that she was saved by the bell, Saffine sighed as Justide abandoned his attempts at courting her to investigate the approaching anomaly.

“Wait here,” he said before proudly strutting off.

Saffine watched the metallic contraptions come to a stop in front of Justide and a patrol of his knights.

“Halt!” Justide announced. “Identify yourselves!”

The doors of the lead vehicle opened, revealing a suited man and Knight Captain Mortes, who opened the rear doors for King Esperanto. Upon seeing the king, Justide knelt. “Sir! Your Highness!”

“Knight Justide, report!” Mortes addressed the kneeling man.

“Sir, our outposts have reported no activity yet,” he looked up, eyeing the strange vehicles and men. “Sir, who are these people?”

“Reinforcements. To be specific, these are the children of the Emissaries.”

Saffine watched the interaction from a distance, walking closer as soon as she saw the king emerge from an unknown contraption. At first, she thought it to be one of Director Sei’s new creations from his Royal Office of Science. However, the moment Mortes revealed their true identity, she finally understood why her heart had acted erratically earlier. Her long-awaited hero — the man of her fantasies — must be present within this alien convoy.

She rushed up to greet the newcomers, waving as she ran. “Your Highness! Captain Mortes!” She bowed before them. “Welcome to the Kals district!” She beamed with a joyful tone.

King Esperanto felt a warm sensation, happy that his subjects were doing well. A quick pulse of sorrow flashed through him as he thought of losing such great citizens to monsters, but the feeling subsided as fast as it had arrived. “What’s your name, young lady?”

“My name is Saffine Eliezer, of House Balthus. What brings His Highness to the edges of the kingdom?”

The name jogged his memory, “Ah, the daughter of the esteemed Doctor Balthus. We have brought the Emissaries of the Star God here to aid us against the demon hordes. Where’s your father?”

Saffine responded, “Father is in a meeting with the town’s council. He said he was there to talk about his findings before presenting them to the Royal Office of Science.”

“Do you know what the findings were about?” Esperanto asked.

“Umm, something to do with orc bodies,” she replied.

Esperanto turned to Mortes and the strangely clothed men. “Mister Ambassador,” he called out to the burly, suited man, “We should head over to the Kals Town Hall to inform the local leadership of our plans,” he said, hoping the locals could help out with logistics and clearing a path for the bulky vehicles. “Their topic of conversation may also prove useful for your soldiers,” he added.

Meyer looked at Baker, who shrugged and said, “We’ve got time.”

Meyer nodded, “Alright then. Let’s see what they have to say.”