Mid Morning - Late Winter : Voldukirk | The Holy Kingdom

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- Astren Ravenna ~

"Hooh..." My foggy breath passed over the metallic blade of my sword as the crisp cool air brushed over my rosy cheeks. -Empty.. mind...-

*FWIP* Instantly arcing the sword over my shoulder and angling it down my body, I supported the side of the blade with my spare hand before the sensation of being punted by a dragon slammed through my body. *CLANK-FWOOSH*

*GASP* With a desperate gasp, the ground suddenly vanished beneath my feet, forcing me to flip over before driving my sword into the ground and slowing myself to a halt. *C-C-C-CHINK-Cracklee* "Hah... Hah..." -Holy shit...- "Can you not.. swing any lighter?" Slowly opening my eyes and moving my gaze up off the ground, I met the eyes of a young tall, blonde-haired man.

He was a man with the face of a prince but the mind of a demon. "How are you going to build muscle memory with your aura if I give you time to think?"

His name was Hephas, the demon who lured me into the Church of Balance eight years prior. "I don't know, but couldn't you at least make it so you didn't launch me across the arena every time?!" *shink* Pulling the sword out of the ground, I straightened myself up with a hand on my back before glancing over my shoulder at the shattered stone wall just a meter behind me.

"Well, you stopped yourself this time. Pat yourself on the back!" He smiled at me while gently clapping. "The last hundred times, you couldn't react before you hit the wall, but now you can catch yourself! You should be proud of how fast you're improving."

"As if... If I told someone I was an apostle, they'd laugh in my face..." Snarkily responding as I tried to brush the dust and rock off my clothes, I walked back toward the shattered ground where I originally stood and picked up the damaged, dark grey sheath.

"If I told everyone the Goddess chose you to be her second Apostle, I'm sure they would shower you with praise and awe!"

Slowly glancing at him as I straightened up and sheathed my sword, I gave him an unamused look over a moment of silence. "It's been eight years... How do you still enjoy this so much..."

"Enjoy what? Training a young apostle who will one day stand next to the Goddess of Balance? Of course!" He smiled somewhat smugly as if I had caught him in the act.

-Insane bastard...- Hooking my sword back onto my belt, I shot him another glare before turning to leave the small, lavishly decorated colosseum we were training in. It was known as the Arena of the Divine, a fairly small colosseum next to the Church of Balance in the heart of Voldukirk, a place that I had come to know better than my hometown in recent years.

"Are you leaving already? I don't believe we've finished."

"Yeah." I responded bluntly before gently massaging my neck to relieve some stress. "The Second Templar Division just got back last night, so I'm going to grab a meal with my Father." It had been a few years since he was recruited by the second division at that point, but ever since then, he was rarely actually in the capital. -Elizabeth is supposed to join us as well...-

"I see." Suddenly switching to a less playful demeanor as if dictated by a switch, his demonic smile faded to a more natural and warm one. "In that case, I won't hold you any longer. Be sure to tell him I said hi."

With a wave over my shoulder, I quickly left before he changed his mind, speeding through the arcing side entrance of the arena and quickly making my way outside. "Hooh..." -I'm surprised he let me go that easy..."

The only other times he ever let me go like that were days of an emergency or days following prayer. -Maybe I'm finally at the point where I can have some freedom...-

Finally coming out into the court behind the Church, I made my way around to the side before hopping over a railing and falling into an alleyway that led out to the main road.

Although it had been close to eight years since I unknowingly walked into the Church of Balance and was chosen by the Goddess Eir to be her second Apostle, it had yet to be publicly announced since I still wasn't strong enough to handle many of the expected obligations of an Apostle.

But frankly, I couldn't wait for it. Over the last eight years, I was forced to train under Hephas, Eir's only apostle in the eyes of the public, and while my skin glowed radiantly, my body was fit, and my face was still young, it was nothing short of hell.

But eventually, things would get better, and I believed that one day I'd have the kind of autonomy that Katherine had.

Not long after I became an apostle, Katherine was picked as the hero, someone who was essentially an apostle of Asgard as a whole, with Elizabeth being made her public image shortly after that. As it turned out, the church had a problem with Katherine's personality, or the fact she was demihuman, and used Elizabeth with her royal aura and convincing strength in her place for public speeches or appearances.

Over the years, they had both been two peas in a pod, growing closer with each other each and every day since they spent most of their time together, even training each other since it was more effective and enjoyable for them. -Though I haven't been able to talk to Katherine in a while...-

As usual, she was quiet and didn't speak much, but this time, according to a letter I received just a few hours prior, there was some issue that needed her attention.

It was a shame, but as the hero, it wasn't surprising. -When she was first appointed, they ran her around the continent under the guise of a 'test', clearing dungeons, killing monsters, liberating villages, and even suppressing rebellions all to 'prove herself'.-

But while it seemed like she was just being used, whenever I asked how she was doing, I heard the same thing: 'She's running around the city, going to brothels, bars, and taverns.' It was almost like she was running around and partying, but I knew that wasn't the case.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

She was still looking for the same person she originally was, even after eight years of searching each and every day.

It had gotten to the point where I wondered just who that person was to her, a father, a husband, or just a friend, but I never got a straight response when I asked. -Eventually, I just came to accept it... It's a shame I won't be able to see her today though...-

Continuing out onto the bustling main road of the eastern gate, I turned and made my way down toward the lower districts before eventually coming up to a thin, one-story building that looked as if it was stuffed in an alleyway. -I wonder if the rumors of this place are true...-

*Click* Quickly walking inside, I came into a tiny room with a grouchy old man perching his feet on a small reception desk.

His face was wrinkled and worn, and his expression was scrunched. He didn't seem to be in a good mood. "The parlor is down the street more, Miss." He pointed his thumb further down the street after a quick glance at me.

But I continued up to him, eventually getting an odd look before I eventually showed my ID, a small white and gold tablet given to me by the church.

"Ah, I see." His sour mood quickly lightened. "I apologize, I assumed you were some noble." Finally pulling his feet off the reception desk, he stood up, revealing his still tall and muscular body before walking over and opening an obvious hatch in the ground and revealing a dimly lit stairwell. "Again, sorry about the misunderstanding."

"Don't worry about it." Quickly walking in, I put my ID back in my pocket before the hatch closed behind me. *CLANK*

The place I was at was a restaurant reserved for templars, or as they called them here, 'the ones who suffered'.

*loud chatter* In short, it was a place for mostly retired templars to eat, chat, and share stories, with only a few of the younger groups daring to enter even though they had permission. -But supposedly the food is pretty good...-

Continuing down the stairs, the chatter only grew louder before eventually coming up to a wooden door that was barely hanging on the wall.

*tap-creaak* Gently pushing it open, I finally came into a fairly large room carved into the ground with a stone ceiling and walls, decorated with carvings and paintings of recognizable figures and a wooden floor covered in tables.

But while I somewhat expected it to smell like old man and alcohol like the reception room did, it smelled incredible. -Oh my...-

I quickly scanned the room to try and find Father, but before I could find him, an older woman came up to me and hooked her arm around my neck. *pat* "Hey, what's our squadron's little girlie doing here?" She spoke with a thick accent and slurred words, quickly grabbing the attention of everyone around us.

She was the Selby Randi, the lieutenant, the second in command of the Second Templar division behind Captain Snyder, a freakishly strong woman who cared for me like a mother ever since Father joined the Second Templar Division. "Well, Father said he wanted to try eating here, so I came to meet with him."

"Hoho, I see." She hooked me in closer with a playful smile before finally letting me go. "In that case we ought to fix him a good welcoming meal!" With a cheer, she turned back to the crowd of older men and women drinking and chatting to their hearts content.

To my relief, it seemed like nothing happened on their trip.

And thankfully, I was right. After speaking to Selby some more, we idly spoke about what they had done on their expedition, which was essentially just heading to a southern port and helping a fleet prepare for an expedition similar to the ones they had sent out a few weeks prior. -It makes me wonder...- "Do you know what those fleets are doing? Wasn't the third templar division sent in one of them?"

*gulp-gulp* *thwack* Slamming down her wooden mug, she looked me in the eyes and shrugged. "They are headed to a place called Siratha. I'm not sure why exactly though. Considering we sent two moles, I assume its probably a mythril mine they found."

-Right.. I almost forgot about that...- "Where exactly is all that mythril going?"

"We aren't sure, even Andras is left in the dark when it comes to that. All we know is a ton of it is being brought here to the capital, and that there are some big projects going on in the upper churches."

An older man who I didn't recognized, quickly leaned back in his chair toward us to chime in for a moment. "Some people are sayin' it's all going toward a statue, but I don' believe it."

-It's too much mythril for a statue that have to be moved...- To my knowledge, it was a ludicrous amount of mythril, measuring in the hundreds or even thousands of kilograms per day. "If they released it all to market, the market would crash... Are they going to make a new currency with it?"

"Hmm.. that's possible, but I think unlikely..." Selby leaned back in her chair and perched her feet on the table as she fell into thought. "If I had to make a guess, I would say it's them wanting to outfit the military with new equipment, but if 'our connections' are right, I have my doubts..."

She was referring to dragons. According to them in recent years, Bahamut, the land of dragons, was looking at spreading its influence, and possibly even getting rid of the Holy Kingdom, seeing it as an eyesore. -If they're right, it'd mean we're preparing for a war with dragons.. so giving people new equipment would only help so much...- I paused in thought for a moment before looking up. "Could it be artifacts?"

"Maybe." A sudden, young voice met my ears as I felt two hands press on my shoulders.

"AH!" Jumping up out of my seat, I turned around to see a beautiful young woman in exquisite clothing without a speck of dust anywhere on them. -Oh.. it's Elizabeth...- I couldn't sense her presence at all. "Did you need to sneak up on me like that?!"

"Haha, I just wanted to test you a bit. Is that so bad?" She smiled as she tilted her head before glancing at Selby. "Miss Randi, how are you doing."

"Wonderfully! Even better now that the Hero is here!" She immediately held up her alcohol-filled mug to cheer, with many of the other templars doing the same. """Glory to the Holy Kingdom! Glory to Asgard!"""

Elizabeth quickly raised her hand to quell their cheers before finally sitting down in the seat next to mine. "In any case, Kath couldn't make it. She said something happened in the church last night and I haven't seen her since."

-Huh?- Slowly getting control of myself again, I moved back toward my seat. "That's odd... She didn't tell you where she was going?"

She quickly shook her head. "I did hear that the Valkyries have given an oracle for the first time in over ten thousand years though. Maybe it's related to that?" Motioning to the man at the bar, she quickly got him to start making a drink.

"She never cared about the church though... Could it be related to that 'lead' she got all those years ago from Sir Dentro?"

I felt like that was a more likely possibility, but Elizabeth just shrugged. "I still can't read her, so I'm not sure... Although she did seem a bit more engaged than normal... Maybe there was a new lead."

"Hm.. maybe..." But as I thought about it more, things slowly started feeling more and more odd... After having been together for nearly 8 years, while Katherine was still always fairly quiet, whenever something happened, we were the first ones to know about it. -For her to leave without saying much… Just what happened?-

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