New Land

The climb up the mountain was uneventful. It was tall, but not particularly steep, and even before reaching the summit, what I had been suspecting ever since we’d gained some altitude had already been confirmed.

We were on an island in the middle of the ocean…

When one thinks of an island, it’s usually coconuts and palm trees that come to mind. But I should clarify that this was a temperate island, like many that existed on Earth and that were often blatantly ignored in favor of those in the Caribbean.

Of course, the island wasn’t on any of the oceans of Ameritia (there were four, according to Lirilien, and they surrounded the continent). Rather, it was an ocean within the sphere of light I had found during my dreams.

"It’s truly a beautiful land," Coletto remarked, her aquamarine hair rippling in the wind. "And all this water… it’s wonderful."

"I’d prefer something warmer," Merite commented. "But, for being Zendal’s land, it’s not bad at all."

Why so condescending?...

Wait, my land?!

"There is much to admire here, but above all, it’s the magical energy," Lirilien remarked, tucking strands of her cherry-colored hair behind her ear. "Not even the Spirit Realm can compare to it. And it’s all primordial magic, magic from the dawn of the world…"

"Maybe this is a separate world and it’s just beginning…" Merite commented as she drew shapes in the dirt with a stick.

"The nonsense… you… say…" Coletto began, but then fell silent, as if she had just realized something.

Lirilien said nothing either, but it seemed she had reached the same conclusion.

As for me, I was trying to understand whether by primordial magic they meant the spells invoked in the Primordial Era, or a certain kind of ancient magical energy. It seemed the answer was both…

"My lord!" Lirilien suddenly exclaimed, interrupting my thoughts and nearly making me fall backward from the log I’d been sitting on.

Unlike Merite and Coletto, the princess of the spirits wore a long, exquisite gown with an open skirt, which she didn’t mind soiling with leaves and dirt as she knelt before me.

"I beg you to grant me land within your domain!"

***

It seemed the island offered a magical environment more than ideal for spirits, or in fact for any magical creature, and Lirilien, who was proving to be a stateswoman of great ambition, wasted no time in deciding she wanted to found a city here, moving all the inhabitants of Deeproot Sanctum.

"I’m surprised by how bold the inhabitants of this world are… or rather, of Ameritia," I said with a sigh by the fire. "I’m not even sure where we’re standing, and they’re already pushing ahead with their plan to found a kingdom…"

I say they because both Merite and Coletto quickly joined in on the idea.

"Or maybe it’s just something about women that I don’t understand?"

After quite a bit of exploring, we had settled by the banks of one of the rivers we had spotted from the mountain. That’s when the three girls decided I wasn’t allowed to have any fun and left me at the camp.

In other words, they left me alone while they split up to gather food.

In reality, Coletto and Merite had insisted that Lady Lirilien should also stay behind and take it easy while they did the work. But Lirilien declared she wouldn’t lose to the younger ones and that she also had the right to show me how reliable she could be.

As far as I’m concerned, all three look about the same age. It’s like trying to tell apart an eighteen-year-old from a twenty-two-year-old… I suppose spirits must have their own way of telling how old each of them is…

In the end, I was the only one who lost out. They all assumed the sphere was part of me or something like that (their theory), so they had no qualms about leaving me to count leaves while they enjoyed the experience.

From what I can remember, survival games were my favorites on that technological device called a computer… but my attempt to experience it in real life was quickly ruined.

My argument, that we had agreed I was simply Zendal, was mercilessly tossed aside in this case, and the opinion that “an emperor can’t be picking food off the ground” became the prevailing view in camp.

That said, it’s not like I just sat around counting leaves. Most of the time, I was analyzing my magical connection to the sphere. And by nightfall, more precisely around the time I felt Merite’s presence approaching from a distance (is that normal?), I had already realized quite a few things.

"This is the second time so soon that we’ve ended up sitting by a campfire, Zendal."

Merite’s voice came from somewhere in the vegetation behind me, and when I turned to look, I saw her small frame carrying an enormous boar by the tusks. Apparently, not only were there boars in Ameritia, but also in the world inside the sphere.

"But now it’s not just the two of you, don’t forget that."

This time it was Coletto, appearing with a bubble of water floating behind her in which a bunch of fish swam as if they were still in the river.

"You two! How long are you going to keep fighting in our lord’s presence?"

The last to arrive was Lirilien, riding on a carpet of leaves that levitated through the air. With her, she brought a seemingly endless supply of fruit, nuts, and aromatic herbs.

"Alright," I said, bringing my hands together as I stood up from the second log I’d been using as a seat on the island. "After Coletto returns the fish to the river, I want all three of you on your knees in a line. We’re going to have a long talk about what it means to waste food while you explain the differences between spirits and a bunch of hungry animals."

"…"
"…"
"…"