Welcome to Æurea

Sato

They walk through the portal as simply as one might walk through a door. Passing through the membrane was an odd sensation due to its viscosity, but it wasn't at all difficult. Whatever happened within the portal, if there was such a thing, was lost to them by the time they exited. 

Sato felt the sudden sensation of bright light. A light breeze blew by. He was struck by just how chilly it was. Sato could feel goosepimples forming on his exposed flesh. It was nearing twilight, though they had left at some time in the early afternoon when they left. The sky was painted pinkish-orange as Sol set behind the castle on the hill. Was it Sol?

Sato paused to take in his surroundings. The portal had opened in the middle of a grassy hill. Directly ahead of them was a valley filled in all directions with colourful grains. They were red and purple and golden and green. The plants appeared to be a tall as giant sunflowers, and the density was like that of a jungle. The wind rippled across the tops of the plants, creating waves that made the field look like a colourful sea reflecting the sunset. A babbling brook wound around the lush countryside. There was a small village with huts and sheds made of stone nd waddle covered in thatched roofs next to the field. To his east, Saito saw a thick forest of dark trees. It appeared strangely ominous and foreboding compared to everything else. 

Encircled by the fields of grain, there was a high hill. On that hill, there was a small gated town with high stone walls. Growing out of the town, and on top of that hill, there was a tall vertical Gothic castle. It compensated for its relatively small footprint with numerous turrets and towers radiating out in all directions. The castle felt almost natural, like it was part of the hill, though Sato knew it could not be. 

“Welcome to Æurea,” Bruno exclaimed.

“Indeed, we have arrived.” Leo gestured outwards with all the flourish of a crowned prince. He hated that it was his instinct to do so. He silently assumed a more casual posture, but both Daniel and Rebe had noticed the display.

“So you are a prince, huh, Leo?" Daniel started, clearly getting at something in particular. 

 “I’m sure you all have plenty of questions, but I promise we will get to them in due time. For now, allow us to be your guides,” Bruno added, brushing off Daniel's question. Sato was still avidly attached to the issue of Leo’s principality. Bruno had seemed so eager to brag about it, but clearly, Leo wasn’t nearly so enthusiastic. He was hiding something. “It may not look like much, but it's home,” Bruno added, reassuring no one, himself included.

“They are waiting for us outside the gate,” Leo murmured, hoping no one would hear. Sato heard. Sure enough, Sato could barely make out a small gathering outside the gatehouse of the hill town. They were indistinguishable from this distance, however. 

Sato had so many questions, but he restrained himself, minding Bruno’s request. Leo led them on the long trek across the winding dirt and gravel path that led to the gatehouse. 

Sato looked to his friends to gauge their reaction to their environs. Daniel was visibly disappointed. He had probably been expecting a sprawling sci-fi city, not squalid medieval mediocrity. Sato looked at Rebe. She was looking out across the vista. She seemed to admire the simpler place. Yet she was uncharacteristically quiet and looked rather nervous.

“Are you okay?” he asks warmly.

“Yeah, um, it's all just a lot to take in. Fifteen minutes ago, if you’d told me ghosts exist, I would have said you were crazy, but now I've walked through a gelatinous portal and come out in a different season and time for a prince we don't even know.”

“To be fair, believing in ghosts is still crazy,” Sato joked.

“Shut up, idiot,” Rebe laughed. She jokingly shoved him, but definitely seemed a little more at ease.

Sato was very quiet, taking in all the sights. He very much enjoyed the light stroll, but his face certainly didn't show it. He made sure to take note of every detail. As far as he could tell, this place was quite identical in size and distance from its sun. It was certainly colder than he would have expected, and he felt a bit lighter on his feet, but both reasonably similar to that of the Earth he knew. As for the flora, it looked strikingly similar to that of Earth plants, only larger and more vibrant. Sato did notice a distinct rarity in fauna. He had not spotted one rodent, bird, or insect. In fact, other than the humans, he didn't see any animals. He wondered what might be the cause of this absence. 

Rebe’s sense of wonder and whimsy must have once again found her. She was running ahead of Leo and Bruno, pointing at things she didn't recognize or simply thought were cool. She kept on tapping on Sato’s shoulder, knowing full well it would bug him. They exchanged some quips, but they were all light-hearted and in good fun. He was mostly happy to see her taking it all so well. This was a lot ot take in. Daniel was silent, hanging back, analyzing everything, no doubt. He was most likely wondering about the exact things that Sato was curious about: the societal structure, weather patterns, and food supply chains. They would have to compare notes later.

Leo

Leo could tell Bruno was staring at him. He could almost always tell when someone was staring at him, especially Bruno. He was no doubt worried for the young prince in his charge. Bruno knew better than to ask him if he was prepared to see his father. Still, Leo couldn't stop playing the encounter over and over in his head. No matter how he went at it, it didn't end well.

His years under Bruno’s tutelage had been undoubtedly the best of his life, and he was quite grateful. He had grown quite fond of the old drunkard. Unfortunately, he was also quite poor at expressing his admiration for his guardian. He had almost begun to think of him as a father. However, that didn't go over so well the first time. Like most of his other thoughts, he kept it bottled up inside. 

Sato

After a fifteen-minute walk, they finally approached the gatehouse. A pair of guards armed with crossbows looked down on them from up in the towers. At the foot of the gatehouse was, was the gaggle of greeters. They were attended by a company of guards. The guards wore mail armor and carried small shields and rather odd-looking spears. They created a semicircular perimeter around the greeters. 

Behind the circle had gathered a sizable crowd of onlookers from the village and town. They were all desperate to see what he had brought back this time. Within the ring were a dozen humans as well as a rather peculiar fowl. See, it had all the traits typical of a fowl, except its body took a very similar form to that of a man. He was dressed like a rather noble man. He had roughly the coloration of a blue jay. 

Behind him was a woman and two girls, all in expensive red dresses. The girls both had dark hair of medium length. The older of the two girls was visibly uncomfortable in the attire. She kept pinching at the dress and making faces. The younger girl couldn’t take her eyes off Leo. She was smiling broadly, in great contrast to the others. 

The woman was clearly Leo's mother and the Queen. She wore a small spiked silver crown upon her platinum braided short bob. Her eyes were like Leo's: icy cold. They saw all and betrayed nothing. They were frozen lakes, frigid ocean depths, and the vacuum of deep space all in one. It seemed as though no light escaped them. She was stunningly beautiful and stunningly terrifying. She stared holes into Sato's very being wordlessly.  

A few more guards and royal advisors joined them. Perhaps the most out of place was the tall woman with pink hair tied up in a ponytail. She had odd clothing, compared to the others, that is. It was most similar to a black suit. She stood out like a sore thumb among the nobles. She immediately attracted Daniel’s wondering eye.

The birdman spoke as a parrot would, “Welcome back, Prince Leo, Captain Brunos, and Travelers of Otherworld. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Earl, counsel to the Royal Family. This is Queen Anne of Orre and her two daughters, Princess Samantha and Princess Joeanna. A banquet great in your honour is being prepared as we speak, but in the meantime, please feel free to explore our humble town.”

Leo

Leo rolls his eyes at Earl’s theatrics. He scanned the crowd searching for his father. Nothing. Good.

“Big brother!” Princess Joeanna exclaimed while rushing forward and jumping into Leo’s arms.

“Hello, Jo, look how big you've gotten. You haven't been giving Mother too much trouble, I hope,” Leo joked, catching the girl and hugging her gently.  Jo was the one thing Leo held most dear in this world, and he would do anything to protect her.

“No, just enough,” Jo managed to get out through her giggling.

“Good,” Leo couldn’t help but smile. This seemed to make Jo very happy.

Sato

That was the first time Sato had seen cross Leo's face.  Perhaps it actually was as rare a sight as it had seemed to him. 

Earl, visibly annoyed at the distraction, continued, “ If you would follow us in through the gate, Master Satoshi, Companions, we can begin our tour. 

They already knew Sato’s name and where he lived. For the first time since arriving on Æurea, Sato was distressed. Rebe seemed to notice but didn’t say or do anything. The party entered the town, and the gate slammed shut. “The tour will begin in town.”

“Sato, would you please come with me?” Leo requested. Sato looked nervously at his friends.

“We’ll be fine; don't worry about us,” Rebe reassured him.

“Okay,” Sato whispered in Rebe’s ear, “if anything happens, meet up under that giant boulder in the grain field and let Daniel know too.” Rebe nodded knowingly. Leo and Sato set off for the castle, followed by the rest of the royal family. Bruno and the pink-haired lady stayed behind with Daniel and Rebe and followed Earl in the town.

They walked down the main street guarded by their retinue. The buildings were much nicer than those in the village on the outskirts of the field. They were mostly half-timber or Tudor-style houses lining the street. Most had shops or stalls with awnings lining the street. Sato spotted a blacksmithy, a green grocer, and a washhouse. At the end of the street was a winding path switching back over a creek. And there it was. The Castle.