A few hours later...

It was a remarkably chilly morning on Anea Supra, the massive castle fief standing ever tall and unmoving even against the most unyielding of blizzards, as its residents happily went about their days beneath its tall spires. How, one may ask, do the Inerti manage to survive in these inhospitable conditions? The answer to it is as simple as it is astounding; they live within gigantic domes of ice, supported by magic, steel and concrete.

Towering pillars of reinforced, white concrete rise up into the sky like supports in a mine, each one brimming with the souls of those who were used to construct it. The Inerti use this 'white concrete' for everything from roads to buildings, creating it from a strange mix of diorite and granite, both of which are igneous rocks that can be found in plentiful deposits all across the Island of Sarcopha-Minor, as well as the mainland continent itself.

This is largely due to the fact that diorite is a form of rock that forms from cooling lava flows, of which the place has no shortage nor likely ever will. Massive stone foundries channel the very magma from deep within the earth, magically transfusing it into diorite and other forms of rock, before eventually mixing them back together to form the concrete and reinforcing the building material with rods of unmelting ice which is fully capable of self-maintaining, as well as filling up any cracks forming within the concrete itself, extending its lifespan by centuries. This magical ice is the second most common material that can be found only here, within the seat of death itself, on the land which houses the only known permanent portal to the realms of the dead, to Anea Sedea.

It is from this ice that much of Inerti infrastructure is built, either carved into pre-existing glaciers or created using spell-work. Either way, the ice of this land, like pretty much everything else on Sarcopha-Minor, hums with the ambient mana of death, an entropic form of magic that causes regular material to become extremely resistant to change, reduces the desire to live within the living, as well as serving to quell any form of movement wherever it can. This constant effect is the only reason why the Island does not crack and tear itself apart, as even with the immense elemental forces that continuously ravage the land, the presence of this entropic magic allows for those same elements to settle and reform, rejuvenating the very earth they tore apart.

A vicious, endless cycle that causes the Island to grow taller and taller with each passing year, millimetre after milometer, defiantly reaching for the skies as its volcanoes draw matter from deep below and push it onto the surface, helped along by comets and ageless glaciers. It is within these very glaciers and craters formed by meteors that the Inerti build their cities, spanning a hundred kilometres underground each.

Though, that wasn't the case for our current location, as this was merely the castle of Anea Supra, the place housing the very gateway leaking the magic of death in the first place, as well as the most fortified location in the entire world, aside from perhaps the royal capital of the dwarves. This place is highly compact, with neatly planned corridors and pathways, often leading directly into narrow choke points and/or traps.

Even the road leading to and from the castle itself is a simple, two-way tunnel with diocrete paving the way to the nearby township. Its roads are polished to a high sheen, glistening with white as diorite just happens to be a great source of quartz, which is also the main material for the less boorish of Inerti construction, albeit it is often the only acceptable material for such works. Naturally, traversing a road that is both polished and effectively coated in permafrost is a highly dangerous affair, which forces anyone wishing to do so to have to take their time, allowing for the numerous pipelines connecting to the tunnel to entrap the person or people in question, if that means dousing them in volcanic ash, blocking them in with lava flow or simply collapsing part of the tunnel itself is a choice often made by the designated administrator for the aforementioned part of the tunnel.

Accidents happen, on occasion, and response isn't as quick as one may hope, but just as slow as one may imagine. "Hopefully, there wont be any delays today." Anne mused to herself as she played with a small black ball in her hand, throwing it up and then catching it before doing so again. This darkened object was what the Inerti call a 'sun orb', a piece of enchanted rock filled to the brim with raw sunlight. Truth be told, Anne had no clue how it worked nor did she care, for it only served one purpose; sustenance. When hungry, an Inerti may simply drain the energy from this object in order to feed, a spell that has become so commonplace that even newborn children can do it by instinct.

It was a rather amusing discovery for little Anne to make, resulting in her calling the Inerti, and herself by proxy, sunlight vampires. Not an insult that those around her took lightly, as vampires were undead creatures and all undead are abhorred by the Inerti, as their very existence is an insult to their patron, god and father, Atlyon. Anne smiled lightly as she thought of the god of death, taking his eternal sacrifice for the benefit of the world as something to take an immense amount of pride from. Since the world began, Atlyon has been sleeping at the core of the Soul Well, humbly giving himself and his own life up in order to allow for the Soul Well to function and more souls to be born into the world with every passing cycle.

By giving his own life, what is actually meant is that he is made to sleep forever, with the few moments of being awake preventing anyone from being born, such as the time when he helped Domina create her daughters. "Tch." Anne clicked her tongue in annoyance, cursing her own mind for its constant intrusive thoughts.

"You seem to be in quite the foul mood today, sister." Yvonne's voice echoed behind her sisters back, causing the girl to catch the sun orb one last time before quickly draining it of energy, turning the orb to dust, before turning herself around to face her sister. A small, four year old girl, much like her, dressed in a light-blue dress, white gloves, cute boots and an ushanka hat covering her head. It was quite the outfit, halfway summer and halfway winter, with neither season being properly represented. The girls hair was a glistening white, allowed to flow freely and naturally, but being very, very well kept, while her yellow eyes shone bright with life. Anne, on the other hand, was gifted with a golden mane, much like their mother, while her eyes shone a different colour, a stark quartz, as pale and beautiful as snow. Were it not for the First Princess' sparking, gem-like iris, many would be quick to assume that she is blind.

Anne's sour expression instantly brightened at the adorable sight. "And you're just as adorable as always, Yvonne." The poor girl was caught off guard by her sisters commentary, causing her to miss a step and fall, something that Anne predicted and easily caught, gently setting the girl back on stable feet.

Yvonne's cheeks flushed crimson from the experience, filling Anne's heart with joy. "Y-you did that on purpose!" She pointed out, still flushed and blushing.

Looking away with a snort, Anne 'admitted' her crime. "Maybe~."

"Hmph!" Crossing her arms together and looking away for a moment with her nose pointed at the glacial sky, Yvonne took a good look at her sister, only for her expression to transform into one of worry. "Sis, I know you're really strong and all but... is it really okay for you to go out dressed like.. that?"

"Hmm?" Anne quirked an eyebrow and shrugged, looking herself over. Black gloves adorned her hands, personally enchanted by the princess to help soothe the pain of having to wear plated gauntlets every day, humming with bluish, magical light. She was also equipped with a short-sleeved black t-shirt, pants and stocking-like, sabaton-esque boots which fit her form. She was a head taller than her sister, standing at about a meter and twenty centimetres even though she is only four.

Her outfit was light and not exactly something that would shield her from the elements, as the shirt danced around in the frigid wind. "I'll be fine, don't worry. I can stand in a blizzard for hours in nothing but a nightgown, so this weather actually feels nice for me." Unlike her sisters princess-like hairstyle, Anne's was tied into a ponytail, held together by a runed bracer of solid gold that prevented any damage to come to her precious hair, enchanted with numerous healing magic's, as well as allowing for the hair to self-groom. Much like in her past life, Anne absolutely refused to use a brush, so this golden bracer was made as a necessity, rather than a piece of jewelry.

Gold, silver, precious stones and other materials that may normally be found on exotic pieces of art or equipment, aren't something that the Inerti usually use at all, since most of these materials are considered useless and ineffective. However, some of them, like gold and gems, tend to have extreme magical potency, acting pretty much as this worlds conductive matter, with the exception that it isn't electricity, but magic that they conduct. Gold is an especially powerful conductor for mana and its lack of use in currency allows for pretty much every guard and member of the castle grounds to have an enchanted golden ring or two.

Silver is, ironically enough, the most 'precious' of the metals available to the Inerti, as while it isn't quite as good at conducting mana, it has the curious tendency to amass vast amounts of the residual death magic that permeates the land, ensuring its extensive use in military applications, such as in weapons or defences, considering that the materials effectiveness when used against the vile undead is second to none.

"If you say so, sister... Still, I wish you would try to take better care of yourself, even if the teachers demand that you constantly train yourself." Worry and anxiety danced across her sisters tune as Anne offered her a strong smile and patted her head, making sure to be gentle, even through her sisters adorable hat.

"I hear you, Yvonne. And believe me, I'd love to take some time off for myself but uh... well, mother and the teachers don't like me thinking like that at all." Yvonne groaned and rolled her eyes before replying. "That's just not fair! So what if you're First Princess? You're a person too! Not some tool for them to shape and forge to suit the needs of everyone else!"

With a deep sigh, Anne nodded in understanding, but shushed her sister nonetheless, as it wasn't wise to yell such things within the castle. "Anyway, how come you decided to come along this time? Ah- don't get me wrong, I appreciate the company, I just didn't expect it."

Looking a bit down after the sudden change of subject, Yvonne nevertheless grinned with pride as she explained her reasoning. "Its because I managed to complete all of my assignments for today already! The teachers even praised me for it!"

Anne blinked in confusion and surprise. "Eh? How'd you do that?"

"Simple! I just did everything yesterday instead! The teachers said that this was undeniable proof of my talents as an administrator!" Anne took a step back and rubbed her own head, slightly taken aback by her sisters pride. "That's great, but just like you told me moments prior, try not to overwork yourself."

Yvonne's expression became slightly saddened, but brightened up considerably before smiling at her sister. "I did it so I could spend time with you, Anne."

Now it was the First Princess' turn to flush a beet red, blinking in momentary confusion before waving her arms protectively around herself in embarrassment, only for a frigid gust to cool her down. "Uhm... that's nice.. I-uhm.. thanks, sis. I really appreciate it."

Yvonne's frame brimmed with pride as she rose her fist into the air victoriously, hugging Anne without missing a beat. "I love you, sister!" Recuperating from her shock and smiling lightly before returning the hug, Anne whispered to herself, only loudly enough for her sister to hear. "I love you too, Yvonne."

A few moments afterwards...

Unlike those of a human regent, the Inerti royalty felt no need to place constant reminders of their splendour in front of their subjects, which is why the entire royal procession for today consisted of two maids, a coachman and their twin princess', all aboard a carriage of petrified maple, stainless steel and heavy, rune-bound diocrete.

That's right, even a royal carriage is made out of concrete, though it is also doused in a plethora of enchantments to keep it steady. The weight of the carriage is used to allow for easier passage through the polished tunnel roads between the castle and its township, though they are only used for nobility and other very important personnel.

Thankfully, the inside of the carriage was full of pillowy, white or black silken seats, adorned with a myriad of fantastical artworks made as a reminder of Anne's favoured place within the castle; her bedroom. The fantastical artworks were much alike to those that the God-Empress had carved into her own bed, which helped her daughter catch some much-needed sleep during the day, serving as a brief reprieve for the torments that the princess usually experiences day by day.

The wheeled contraption was pulled forwards, not by some death-cursed steed, but by a magnificent, beatific white lion, a monster, not a beast, native to the lands of Sarcopha. These special lions were usually referred to as 'glisterfangs', due to their magical manes possessing an ever-present lustre of mana combined with permafrost. Ever the proud beasts, legends tell how they were a gift to the Inerti from the goddess Phexris, sister of Atlyon, often being directly associated with the Inerti Nobility, simply due to the fact that nobody else could possibly afford to tame, train and upkeep these magnificent monsters. Each one stood at least two meters tall and about six meters long, with enough fangs and claws to scare away a shark.

Smiling to herself as she observed the inside of the carriage with contentment and approval etched into her face, Anne nodded and lightly jumped inside, skipping the steps so intricately carved by an underappreciated craftsman. She threw herself onto the silken pillows and relaxed instantly, almost as if her own body knew these spider-woven comforts to be a place of rest and recouperation. The pillows, as well as the clothing of her sister, the maids, and even the coachman, were created from the exact same material; the silk of an arachne.

Inerti, as a people, consider spiders to be sacred, so whenever a spider monster out in the world would have the unfortunate luck to evolve into an arachne, the goddess Phexris would etch a guideline into their heads, making them wish to travel into the lands of Sarcopha, where they will be safe from slavery, abuse and death. This long line of eight-legged women eventually decided to fully acclimate to Inerti society, serving as popular seamstresses for the rich and noble, while any eggs they lay are given to specialized farmers that care for and control their population, only allowing a spider monster to evolve should its original parent desire a child.

Those of lesser social class can often be found wearing a mix of wool and furs instead, as the cost of an arachne's silk is far too heavy for most to consider, but this is due to the extremely high quality of the material itself, as its statistics are effectively equivalent to that of dwarven mithril, except lighter and far more flexible. An outsider might consider clothing made from such material to be a needless luxury, but for the Inerti, it is a perfect combination of durability and effectiveness, without any care given to style. To put it bluntly, spiders silk is still spiders silk and no matter how magical or exotic its origin, its not really comfortable to wear as lower-quality craftsmanship can result in clothing that automatically sticks to the skin, the separation of which can be extremely painful for the wearer.

Naturally, the princess' robes are nothing of the sort, with only the highest quality of an already high quality material being used to cover their delicate, youthful frames. The same can't be said for the maids and the coachman however, as Anne turned to look outside for a moment, only to see the two maids groaning in unison as one did her best to dislodge the sticky waist-cloth of the other, eventually succeeding with a rather painful 'shlick' sound. Thankfully, the suffering maid was fine, despite the quickly reddening skin of her abdomen.

But what caught Anne's eye wasn't really the maids, as much as it was her sister, standing shyly in front of the carriage, almost as if she was waiting for something, flushed with embarrassment. "Uhh, Yvonne? You okay?" To her sisters surprise, Yvonne merely humped and extended her hand towards her sister, her blush somehow becoming even brighter as she managed to keep her composure.

Anne gave her sister a look. "I'm not a prince, you know?" Gender dysphoria was already a problem that Anne had to constantly deal with in her past life, trying to keep it to herself whenever she could as most do out of fear of persecution. In Aestra, and as an Inerti at least, on the other hand, she experienced the complete other extreme of persecution; that is to say, being forced to 'accept yourself' as you are. What most don't quite understand is that while people may not be sure if they want to be a man or a woman, that does not mean they also don't want to stay as the gender they currently are.

And Anne? Anne is perfectly fine with being a woman, thank you. Which is why she finds everyone's random insistence to be more like a man, as she herself wants to be, rather annoying. In her mind, its the same as saying that women can't be manly and that having a taste for all things martial automatically makes her a man, rather than a woman.

But considering how much shame and anger those very conflicting emotions brought her in her past life, especially when her innate cause was championed by people she considered to be the least apt on the entire planet, the princess quite clearly forbade any mention of the aforementioned in her presence again. That though, didn't prevent her adorable little sister from smirking. "Could have fooled me with that outfit, Anne~. Now take my hand and help me climb in!"

With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, Anne offered her sister a most princely smile, placing one hand on her chest before extending the other. "My lady?" She questioned her sister, doing her best to hide any mocking undertone as Yvonne's gaze turned into sparkles, causing the poor girl to lightly swoon.

If Yvonne's expression could be summed up into words, they would most definitely be 'A-ah, my heart!'. Anne didn't find the scene so amusing though, especially after realizing that the maids, having caught on to what was happening, were now swooning just as much.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

A visible tick mark appeared on Anne's forehead as her entire body twitched and she closed her eyes in an attempt to retain her composure. Thankfully, Yvonne eventually placed her gentle hand into the palm of her sister and was guided inside, with the chuckling maids quickly following the pair.