Chapter I { Arrival }

Erix awakens from one of the deepest slumbers in her life. Exhaustion had taken her over from the night before, after all the running, the late night conversation with King Irin, and her late night swordplay had physically drained her.

The morning sun bathes her room in a brilliant golden light as a sudden knock on her door grabs her attention.

"Erix, King Irin sent me to get you.” Outside of her door is Captain Cyris, looking very stern and stoic, as he normally is.

Erix looks at him rather confused. The night before had been a little too eventful for her comfort and she had been suffering from sensory overload… After a moment where Erix does not say anything back to him, Captain cyris finally initiates the conversation with her.

“You don’t seem to remember who I am.” Captain Cyris sighs and looks down to her.

“Cyris. Captain of the Pearl Knights. You will address me as Captain Cyris.” Captain Cyris remains stern with Erix, as his temper is rather short.

“Oh, right. Captain Cyris.” Erix suddenly has a moment of remembrance to Captain Cyris.

“You would do well to remember who I am, Erix. I am your Captain after all…”

Erix nods at him and grabs the sword that King Irin had given to her the night before and runs over to Captain Cyris.

“You won’t be needing that today.” Captain Cyris tells her.

“Today, King Irin will only be showing you around the castle and introducing you to those on the premises. You will not be leaving the castle today.”

Erix looks a little sad as she turns around, slowly walks over to her bed and sets her sword down. She turns around and walks back over to Captain Cyris, who says nothing and turns to leave Erix’s chambers.

“Address King Irin with the utmost respect. I am rather surprised that he was so willing to take an outsider like yourself in. I respect the King’s decision and do not question his motives behind it, frankly because they are not important to me.”

“Why did King Irin take me in, Captain Cyris?” Erix asks him innocently.

“That is not a question I can answer. King Irin told me to find you and bring you here, so that is the order that I followed. I am his Captain, my job is to follow his orders, not question them. Remember that too… Some of the other Knights tend to forget that King Irin’s orders are absolute.”

Erix nods her head, listening intently to what Captain Cyris tells her.

“Follow my orders. Got it?.”

Erix nods her head again. Her and Captain Cyris walk a little farther together in silence. Eventually, Erix decides to break the silence and ask Captain Cyris another question.

“Captain Cyris…?”

He looks down at her and awaits her question.

“Do you know what they are doing with my sister?”

“I do not. Another question I cannot answer for you. His majesty wanted me to locate you both. Apparently you are the talk of the castle… We had all been wondering where our medicine has been disappearing to…” Captain Cyris looks down at her, accusingly.

“Do you always do exactly what Mr. Irin says?” Erix asks him, still innocently.

“That is KING Irin to you, lady Erix.... and yes. Again, the King’s orders are absolute. As his Knights, we are to carry out his will and follow his orders. By questioning the King’s decisions, we show disrespect… The Pearl Knights are not known to be disrespectful, especially to the King. We are his loyal army and we are to act as such. As long as I am Captain of the Pearl Knights, that is how my subordinates shall behave.” Captain Cyris scolds Erix and the two continue their walk to the Audience Chamber of the Pearl castle, where King Irin is waiting for them.

“Including you…” Captain Cyris looks directly at her.

Erix does not quite understand the Captain’s explanation. She had always lived on her own with her sister. She had only ever known life on her own, the loss of her own parents had scarred her to a point where she no longer remembers what had happened before their death. Ever since then, she had been on the run with her sister. Committing petty thievery from the Pearl Kingdom... Until she had been caught, that is.

“The Audience Chamber is right through that door. Don’t feel overwhelmed yet… King Irin is expecting you. What I will warn you about, and I am sure you have heard already; the other knights are not so welcoming of outsiders such as yourself. Expect them to treat you harshly at first. My second in command soldier is roughly your age, I recommend getting to know him first.”

The two walk in together and see King Irin waiting for the two of them.

“What is his name?” Erix asks Captain Cyris

“His name is Mel--” Captain Cyris starts

“Good morning, Erix.” King Irin interrupts Captain Cyris and walks over to the two of them.

“Captain Cyris, you may leave. I will be alone with young Erix today.”

“Yes, my lord.” Captain Cyris turns to leave the Audience Chambers.

King Irin rests his hand gently on Erix’s head and the two walk together out of the Audience Chamber. King Irin shows her around the castle, pointing out the various aspects and spacious rooms of the castle, Knights nosey about their business for the day. Nobody seems to be in a hurry to get anywhere and everybody seems to be very lackadaisical.

“Young Erix…” King Irin grabs her attention. She looks up at him, with a look of intrigue.

“I take it you had the pleasure of getting to know Captain Cyris this morning?”

“Yes, King Irin. He was telling me about what it was like to be a Captain.”

“Captain Cyris is my most loyal and trusted Knight. Hence, why he is my Captain. His second in command is actually my nephew… you will be meeting him later today. He is just about your age.”

“Captain Cyris mentioned him. He told me I should get to know him first.”

“You will, young Erix. Today, I will show you around my castle and introduce you to some of the Knights of the Pearl Kingdom.”

“What about my sister? Has she passed yet?” Erix asks him, apprehensively.

“Hm? I thought you did not want to know?” King Irin looks at her puzzled.

“If you would like to know, she has not passed yet… But she will soon. I am deeply sorry for that, young Erix. I know how difficult it is to lose a sibling. I sympathize with you.”

Erix looks down at the ground, saddened by King Irin’s information.

“I will, however, introduce you to my apothecary… that will be the last introduction of the day. Tomorrow, I will show you the rest of the Kingdom. Does that sound like something you would be interested in, young Erix?”

She excitedly nods her head, looking very much forward to seeing the place she would be living from now on.

“You have already seen your quarters, the audience chamber and the front gate. Are you hungry, young Erix? Can I interest you in some breakfast?” King Irin asks her.

“I haven’t eaten in a while… and since we have been on our own, our meals have been meager at best. Most of what we had found had been fed to my sister to try and keep her alive.”

King Irin looks down at her, rather somberly.

“Young Erix, our first stop will be the mess hall, where the Knights dine. I will accompany you and share breakfast with you. It isn’t often I make my way to the mess hall to join the Knights… But today is your first day in my Kingdom, so I will make an exception, just this once.”

King Irin looks down at her and smiles. Erix smiles back at him and excitedly walks down the expansive halls of the castle with King Irin.

When they arrive at the mess hall, it is bustling with Pearl Kingdom Knights. All of them seem to have gathered at the same place at the same time to share their meal. The business of the room floods Erix’s ears as all of the knights seem to be conversing and laughing with one another… until she enters.

As Erix and Irin walked in, the conversations seemed to stop and the mood of the room died down as every eye in the room shifted to Erix and King Irin for two reasons; one being that Erix was new to the crowd… The overwhelming attention gave her anxiety. The second reason was the presence of King Irin. Not a single Knight, other than Captain Cyris, could have predicted that King Irin would be gracing them with his presence. Suddenly, every knight in the mess hall was on their best behavior.

“Soldiers!” King Irin addresses everyone in the room with his thunderous voice.

“At ease, you were all given the day off! Eat, drink, and be merry!” King Irin announces to his soldiers to relax and enjoy their day.

The soldiers are hesitant at first and slowly ease their way back into conversation, however, there was a certain tension in the room… as if the presence of King Irin kept the Knights at some semblance of order. An excitable younger Knight runs around the mess hall from table to table, greeting each knight briefly as he moves table to table until he approaches King Irin and Erix.

“Morning, Uncle Irin!” The boy says to him.

Erix recognizes the young boy from last night. He had been with Captain Cyris and the rest of the Knights. Erix begins thinking to herself upon seeing the boy.

“Is this the young knight Captain Cyris was talking about?”

“Melodias, how many times have I told you. My blood may run through your veins, but you are still to address me as King. You are not superior to the others and will receive no differential treatment simply because you are my nephew…”

“Right, sorry…!” Melodias says to him and runs off.

“Do not forget our meeting at the apothecary tonight!” King Irin reminds him.

“I won’t!”

Erix and King Irin sit down together, secluded from the rest of the Knights.

“After we enjoy our meal, the next stop will be the training hall. Then we head to the apothecary. I would rather ease you into life here at my castle. As time goes on, you will become more and more familiar with the faces around the castle as well as where you should be and when you should be there. Familiarize yourself with your surroundings as hastily as you can, so you do not get left behind.”

“Yes, my lord…” Erix says to him, kindly.

The two sit together and share a meal. Erix scarfs down her food as quickly as she can. So quickly, she begins to choke on her meal.

King Irin laughs at her.

“My my, young Erix. You must have truly been famished. I’ve never seen a young lady such as yourself eat that way!”

Erix’s coughing and choking on her food ceases. She begins to laugh back at King Irin.

“I haven’t eaten a meal as delicious as this in such a long time. Thank you, King Irin. It is delicious!”

King Irin gently grabs her hand in his.

“Familiarize yourself with that as well, Young Erix. You may enjoy meals such as this as often as you like. My cook is also one of the finest in Geren. Would you like me to introduce you?” King Irin asks Erix.

Erix nods her head excitedly.

“Come then.” King Irin lets go of Erix’s hand and gets up from his seat. The two walk over to the cook of the mess hall.

“Mr. Lawrence. This is Erix, my newest and youngest Knight. Erix, this is Lawrence, the greatest cook in the land.” King Irin praises Lawrence to Erix.

Lawrence says nothing to Erix, but shows direct appreciation to King Irin’s kind words.

“Thank you, my lord. I strive to impress.”

“Keep up the good work. Come, young Erix.” King Irin takes Erix and the two leave the mess hall together.

They continue down the hallways of the castle. Erix remembers that King Irin had told her that the next stop of the castle tour would be the Training Hall. Erix was excited for this portion of the tour. She was very excited to get involved with the Pearl Knights. She really wanted to show the other Knights how talented she was at swordplay and claim their respect as a young outsider coming in as a new member of the Kingdom.

When the two arrive at the Training Hall, Erix runs inside, looking around in awe of the sheer size of the room she was in.

“This, young Erix, is where you will spend most of your time. Impressive, eh? The reason this room is so expansive is due to the talents of my Knights… They train harder and better than every other Knight in the entire Kingdom of Geren, and this training hall is representative of their work. Bigger, better and stronger than everybody… That, young Erix, is what makes a Pearl Knight.”

Erix nods at King Irin and continues excitedly running around the room and admiring all of the sights of the spacious training hall. She looks to the back of the room to see a double staircase leading up to a throne overlooking the entirety of the training hall. She stops to behold the majesty of the throne. King Irin walks up behind her and puts his hand on her shoulder.

“Regal, isn’t it, young Erix? I sit there and overlook the Knights as they train. I like to ensure that they are getting stronger and not engaging in any behavior unbecoming of a Pearl Knight. Fortunately for me, Captain Cyris is a loyal Knight and ensures that this lot performs to the best of their ability. This Kingdom has no place for weakness.”

“It’s very impressive, King Irin. When can I begin training with the other Knights?”

“Patience, young Erix. Your time will come. Until then, learn what being a denizen of my Kingdom means.”

“Yes, King Irin. I will be ready to begin whenever you will have me…”

“Ha ha ha! Young Erix, you are a rather excitable girl, aren’t you?” Irin laughs as he pats Erix on her head.

“I think it is time you met my apothecary. Young Melodias will be meeting us there as well. I can give you a formal introduction to him as well. In short, Melodias is my nephew. I took him in very young… Tragic story, that one. But, I will save that for another day. He is a good boy, a little enthusiastic and impatient… but still a good boy. I wanted you to meet him early since he is about your age.”

A lot of time passes in the Training Hall as dusk begins to settle on the Pearl Kingdom. Erix and King Irin watch through a window together as the sun disappears behind one of the high mountains of the Pearl Kingdom.

“Come, young Erix. It is time to go…” King Irin and Erix leave the training hall together to head to the apothecary.

Nightfall at the Pearl Castle is a very still and serene occurrence. The halls of the castle are torchlit and uninhabited… the castle becomes a ghost town at night time.

"Young Erix. The Apothecary's Chambers is a location I am sure you are familiar with, hm?" King Irin references her time stealing medicine from the castle.

Erix bows her head in shame, knowing she had been branded by King Irin and the Knights as a thief.

"I forgive your transgressions of thievery, young Erix. However, know that if it had been anybody else stealing from my castle, they would have been executed immediately. Fortune, as well as I, favor you…"

Erix nods her head to King Irin.

"Thank you, your majesty." Erix smiles up at him and King Irin, back at her.

“Another thing that would do you well to know. The better part of the Knights typically spend a lot of their evenings in the bathhouses. You are more than welcome to use them yourself but take caution. I cannot be everywhere at once. It would be wise to avoid drawing too much attention to yourself in there… you are the only female Knight in my Kingdom after all. I wouldn’t want anything… unsavory… to occur.”

Erix takes some slight discomfort with this information. While a bath would sound divine after the last few days, the fear of being tormented by the Knights overwhelmed her.

“However, all it would take is to tell Captain Cyris that something had occurred…” King Irin pauses for a brief moment before his voice gets very stern.

“...and that scum would be taken care of immediately.”

Erix nods, and her fears subside. She feels trust in King Irin and Captain Cyris. Seeing as how they have been the only two in the Pearl Kingdom to show her genuine care and concern. She trusts the two of them would keep her safe from harm.

The two arrive at the Apothecary’s wing of the castle. Erix and King Irin approach together. A man stands close to the entryway to the chamber along with a young boy. The familiarity of the boy rings out to Erix, as she had seen him before, both on the night he was captured as well as in the mess hall earlier that day. The boy speaks loudly and Erix can hear his voice from far away, loud and clear.

“Melodias! What a pleasant surprise. I never would have guessed that you would have arrived on time!” King Irin offers less than sincere praise for Melodias arriving at their allotted appointment on time.

"Of course King Irin, you only stressed its importance to me a hundred times…" Melodias remarks sarcastically to him.

"I suggest you watch your tone when speaking to the King, Melodias. While he is your uncle, he is still the King of this land." A man dressed in black says with his back turned to the group.

Melodias ignores him, and gives him an unfriendly glare out of his field of view.

"You must be Erix… I've heard a lot about you. An exquisite fighter and welcomed fresh face around the Pearl Kingdom." The man says to Erix, still not looking in her direction.

The man turns around towards Erix and begins walking toward her. The man reeks, as if he hadn't left his Chambers in ages to wash up. His foul odor washed over Erix's nose and she winced in disgust. She had never smelled a human being so vile…

"Forgive the state of my quarters… a lot of the times I get lost in my research and medicinal practice that I forget to bathe. A rather foul curse of mine…" the man pauses a moment, but doesn't seem genuine when apologizing for his nastiness.

"I am Auroura. The Pearl Kingdom's Apothecary. A pleasure to meet you, lady Erix."

Erix extends her hand hesitantly, but Auroura ignores her and turns back around to go back to what he was doing. Erix doesn't exactly mind being ignored by him, given his odor. She looks up at King Irin with her look of disgust as he decides to speak to Auroura.

"Auroura… Erix will be joining the official ranks of the Pearl Kingdom Knights."

"Ah, yes. Another pawn in your 'unbreakable' ranks, eh? How respectable. Now, I suppose my query is; why have you brought her to me?"

"Tis but a simple introduction, Auroura. No need to be so reclusive!" King Irin jokes with him

"Young Erix, I should formally introduce you to my nephew. Melodias. The other young knight, a couple years older than you, but I assure you, you two will get along just fine." King Irin flashes Melodias a threatening look that Erix does not see.

"Hi, Erix! I've heard a lot about you… I've also seen you fight. It was really stunning watching you hold your own against Captain Cyris like that. We were all in shock! Nobody can combat him the way you did." Melodias commends her fighting ability.

"Melodias, I called you here for a very important matter… I'm glad the two of you are here together. You see, Melodias… I want you to look after Erix. Be her partner through her Knighting process. Come along with her and I when I take her around the city." King Irin begins his explanation.

"Sure, King Irin. Is there any reason you had us meet at the apothecary to tell us that?" Melodias seems slightly confused.

"I want you all to get acquainted, of course! Auroura is my most trusted medicinal expert, you are my nephew, and Erix is the newest member of our family. I have discussion regarding Erix's knighting process to discuss with Captain Cyris this evening, so I want the three of you to get to know one another!"

"Oh, I see…" Melodias responds rather skeptically to King Irin's request.

"It's time for me to head out, I am already a bit late after showing Erix around the castle. Please, get to know one another." King Irin turns to leave the chambers and walks through the open doorway.

"Well…" Melodias starts to speak to Erix but is unsure of where to take the conversation. Erix remains fairly quiet, as she is also seemingly uncomfortable.

"Ah, of course… the discomfort and unpleasantness of youth. The two of you don't know how to initiate conversation with one another. It's rather pathetic, if you ask me." Auroura doesn't take his eyes off of his work.

Erix and Melodias look at one another, and say nothing. The two are slightly offended by what Auroura has said to them.

"You know, Auroura… I'm starting to understand why the Knights don't like you very much…" Melodias says to him.

"Hmph… can't say I care much. I'm not here to make friends. That doesn't interest me. What does interest me is my research. And here is the best place for me to do that. Given King Irin's need for me, I have a comfortable place to live and research the Bloodblight."

"The… Bloodblight?" Erix asks him, confused.

"Yes. The Bloodblight. The disease your sister carried. You didn't know that?"

"No… I've never heard of it before." Erix looks puzzled.

"Can you… tell me about it?" Erix asks him.

"The Bloodblight is a highly contagious and dangerous disease that can affect anybody. Causing the victim to cough and vomit blood until their untimely passing. There are other various side effects, but they're a bit graphic for a young one as yourself. So I'll spare you the dirty details… However, death isn't the end of the disease. It's what comes after, that is notable..."

"What… do you mean, sir?" Erix's interest is piqued.

"Well, aren't you an inquisitive one… I can respect that. Since you must know… when an individual carries the Bloodblight and passes; they change into something inhuman. Some go as far as to call it a monster… One that beckons to be researched. One that… we know nothing about, truly. And that is why I must know. I must be the one to discover the secrets behind the Bloodblight. How it is transmitted, how it is lethal, and what the individuals who turn are truly capable of!"

"So… does that mean my sister will become one of these monsters…?" Erix asks, concerned about the answer.

"Most definitely… In fact, it is likely she has already. I haven't checked on her in a while…" Auroura stops what he's doing.

"Checked…? You mean she's still here?!" Erix raises her voice.

"Wait… Auroura…" Melodias tries to stop him.

"What does it matter if I tell her Melodias? At the end of the night, you and I will be the only one who remembers this information."

"What if I tell King Irin about this?!" Melodias threatens.

Auroura turns around and begins walking towards Melodias, a bone-chilling smile on his face.

"Ah ah ah… I would advise against that...'' Suddenly, Auroura's hand glows yellow and Erix freezes in place, almost unconscious.

"...or who knows what could happen to the two of you. My advice to you, would be to stay in line, and ensure that your new 'partner' does the same." Auroura says menacingly to Melodias.

"Now… using my Yellow Magic, I suppose I will manipulate Erix into acting as a good little Knight for the Pearl Kingdom. Being the right hand to the King and allowing me to continue my research with her little sister. And if either of you step out of line, I will not hesitate to kill you both." He snaps his fingers and Erix falls to the ground, completely unconscious.

"Erix? ERIX?! Wake up! Hey!!" Melodias runs over to her and tries to lift her up.

"I wouldn't bother if I were you… she won't awaken until the morning… she will be pretty fatigued, so it's best to waste your energy on her then.

"You bastard… I'm going to…!!" Melodias starts a threat.

"You'll what? You'll tell King Irin on me? That's quite adorable… go ahead and tell King Irin." Auroura turns away from them and goes back to his work.

"Get out of my chambers." Auroura says to him

"And take that unconscious pawn with you."

Melodias picks up Erix's ragdolled body and turns to walk out, giving one final glare to Auroura. As he exits, he begins to think to himself:

‘There must be a reason he isn't afraid for Uncle Irin to find out. Is it because he knows too? No… that can't be it. Uncle Irin may be iron-fisted but he would never involve himself in something as sinister as this. Maybe he's just doing research in his own twisted way… perhaps he just doesn't want Erix to know the fate of her sister… that seems likely. Maybe he's trying to protect her? But why do it in such a devious way? I have so many questions and I don't quite understand…’

Melodias walks Erix up to her room and lays her on her bed.

"Goodnight, partner…" Melodias says quietly as he leaves her room. He pauses a moment and thinks to himself again.

"Maybe I should talk to King Irin about this… it seems serious."

Melodias explores the quiet castle to find where King Irin and Captain Cyris would be. He peeks into the mess hall, knocks on King Irin's private chambers, goes to the Barracks to check Captain Cyris's private chambers, and lastly, decides to look in the training hall, where he sees King Irin and Captain Cyris talking with one another.

"King Irin? Can I talk to you for a moment?" Melodias grabs his attention

"Oh, you two are done already? Where is Erix?" King Irin asks

"That's what I came here to talk to you about… Auroura knocked her unconscious… I took her to her room. He said she will sleep until morning…"

"Captain Cyris, please excuse me."

"Yes, my lord." Captain Cyris leaves Melodias with King Irin in the training hall.

"Do you know why Auroura has Erix's sister still?"

King Irins eyes widen and he grunts slightly.

"He was not supposed to share that information with Young Erix… but it does explain why she is unconscious. It is likely that he removed her memory of that knowledge."

"So you know about this…?" Melodias says to him, displeased.

King Irin rests his hand on Melodias' shoulder.

"Unfortunately, yes. I do. I don't want Erix to know because I don't want her to worry about her sister. As far as she is concerned, her sister has passed. And in order to keep her inner peace, it is best that we keep things that way."

"But, Uncle Irin…"

"It is best that we keep things that way, Melodias. But…" King Irin's brow furrows and he glares at Melodias.

"If she were to find out about this… I would know who told her. I suggest that you ensure that she does not find out." King Irin's hand begins to glow red, signifying the preemptive use of devastating Red Magic.

Melodias looks at Irin with fear.

"Do we understand one another?"

"Y-yes, King Irin. I understand."

"Good. Tomorrow morning, awaken Erix at dawn and bring her to the front gate. You'll accompany us on a tour of the Pearl Kingdom."

"Y-yes, sir." Melodias seems worried.

"Nephew, do not worry… this is mine and Auroura's business. It is for the good of the entire Kingdom of Geren. Trust me." He rests his hands on Melodias' shoulders once again.

Melodias simply nods his head at King Irin.

King Irin pats Melodias' shoulders and goes to leave the Training Hall

"I will see you two at dawn, Melodias."

"Yes, King Irin… see you in the morning."