Chapter 4 - Powerless Guest

The winged horse spread its wings and lifted its feet off the ground with two flaps. The carriage started to wiggle and slowly got off the ground.

A minute later, they were already flying over a forest, followed by a village. Then another one and another one.

As Tiberius looked and checked the ground out, he was amazed by how great everything looked from the sky, especially when you are not falling. Because he had never left the city, he had never used a plane, so it was the first time for him to see everything like a bird. Of course, they weren't as high in the sky as a plane, but they could see people smaller than ants.

After they passed over villages, they entered the air zone of a city, which was obvious from the buildings. Unlike villages, buildings here tend to be bigger and more compact than separate smaller ones.

“You seem excited,” said the king to Tiberius.

“Yeah, I am. This is my first time in the sky actually,” he replied with a smile on his face.

“So your kind can't fly?”

“My kind? What do you mean, "my kind"? We are both humans.”

“Human?” said the king as if he had never heard of the word.

“Yes, human.”

“But you are making a mistake. You might be a human, but I am not, nor is anyone in this world. We are daha.”

“Daha? Is that a name you use instead of human”?

“Well, I do not think so. Do you not see differences between us?” said the king, checking him out with his eyes.

And he was right. As Tiberius saw before, people here were shorter than him with nearly no exception. They also looked slightly weaker than the humans he had seen in New York. Even though he felt weird about it, he knew that this could happen due to differences in lifestyle; he had read in an article that the Dinka of South Sudan are way too tall for an average human. But they do not call themselves something else. They are still humans.

“Yes, but maybe it is because you live in a different place with a different lifestyle? You seem human to me.” Tiberius said, looking down from the carriage.

They did not speak a word until they reached the castle. King was reading a newspaper handed to him by the guard, while Tiberius appeared to be watching the ground.

He surely was amazed by the view and surprised by the winged horse, but there was no explanation for either why he was here or why he faced such a dangerous situation. He was somewhere else; it didn't feel like Earth, unless he was having hallucinations, which is impossible because he wouldn't even drink alcohol, much less use anything that would cause him to have strange visions.

Tiberius noticed the ground getting closer as the city buildings began to separate. He noticed that they were flying up to a hill with various habitats and different animals running along, either playing or hunting. Halfway to the top of the hill, he saw an iron fence divided by carved stones. Iron fences had decorations on them, each of them having 12 arrow-like toppings pointing toward the sky.

Behind the fence, the vegetation continued but in a stylish way, as if it were planted in a special design. Tiberius realized after seeing workers in the area that this was a large garden, most likely belonging to the king.

“King Tharos, we are about to land,” the guard informed.

King lifted his gaze from the newspaper and gave a quick look at the guard, then folded the newspaper and put it next to himself.

As they smoothly landed on the ground, the guard jumped out of the carriage and opened the door for the king and his guest.

Tiberius followed the king and exited the carriage. The horse was still flapping its wings and tapping its feet on the ground.

Tiberius was impressed by the size of the garden first, but after seeing it close up, the garden itself was more impressive than its size. Next to him, there was a fountain in the form of a cross, longing in four directions. At the center, there were four dolphin statues, each spitting water into one of the four sides.

Four personnel, two men and two women, walked toward the king with fast steps, bowed their heads, and waited for his orders.

“Is dinner ready as I have ordered?”

“Yes, my king.”

“Make the table. Me and my special guest will be there in a few.”

Servants bowed slightly before taking a few steps back, turning around, and walking back to the castle to prepare things.

"You seem to like the fountain," the king said to Tiberius, who was looking it over.

"Yes, it is truly amazing. The details on the statues…” he replied, “...it probably took years to make.”

"This was done by one of my personal sculptors. I think it took him two full days to finish all of them. He is usually faster, but details take him longer. Still worth the wait."

"Two days?" he exclaimed. "It's impossible to carve something out of stone this beautiful in just two days, even with modern technology!"

“Technology? Indeed, an average daha could never achieve this in a short period of time. It took him decades to get this level of detailed work. He has refined his earth abilities to create statues; he uses no tool but his hands and pure magic.”

“Magic?”

“Why are you confused? I believe you could do the same with minimal training, considering your level.”

“My level? I am not following.”

“You don’t have to be humble about it. You couldn’t pull the sword, but you moved it. This is proof of your immense magic.”

Tiberius could not understand what he meant by words, and this was understandable at his end. At the festival, he was made to pull the sword. The only thing he knew was that only Rael had been able to pull it in last century. What did that sword actually mean, what was the condition to pull it, and why was he, out of everyone, able to move it. None of them had an answer for him. And another question is how did Rael know that he could do it.

“Let’s not waste more time,” said the king, interrupting his thoughts.

“O-okay,” he replied, following the king toward the castle, which was even more impressive than the garden itself.

It had multiple towers, each of them being taller than the castle itself but also having a height difference between each other. And they were also connected to the main castle. Each of them had a round balcony on the highest floor and guards waiting. They were not armed, so this made Tiberius question the security of the castle a bit.

As they entered the castle, two servants welcomed them, each standing next to the stairs that led to the second floor. Tiberius followed the king through the hall to the dinner table, which was big enough to serve 50 people at once, at least.

Another two servants were waiting in the room. Each of them was standing next to a chair, one at the top chair, the other one next to it.

They bowed as the king entered and pulled the chairs slightly to make room for him to sit. He took a seat in the chair next to King. Before Tiberius could check what was on the table, a few more servants entered the room, carrying cloches. They placed them in front of them and opened the lids to show them their dinner. It appeared to be a vegetable soup. Out of respect, Tiberius took a spoonful and sipped only a little after the king did. It didn't have a particularly memorable taste, but it was better than most soups he'd ever had.

While they were eating, another servant poured juice into their glasses. Because of the color, it looked like apple juice. Tiberius only tasted it after finishing his soup, and it was indeed apple juice, a good one especially.

The main course was served after the king and his guest finished the soup. When Tiberius saw the meal, he got a little confused. It was a whole cooked bird with sauce and some vegetables next to it. Even the bird’s head was still attached.

“Erm, excuse me, but what is this?” Tiberius asked the servant.

“Sir, this is Firebeak in a Pastry Tomb, a meal for the king himself, royalty, and his special guests. It is made with the bird called Firebeak, cooked with mushrooms and vegetables, and served with a special sauce, which is also made using the bird itself,” the servant informed the guest.

“It is really tasty,” said the king, taking a bite from it. “You can only find this food here, since this Firebeak only lives in our forests. It is a rare bird that is very hard to catch. Also, it is illegal to hunt it without permission, thanks to me, of course,” he giggled.

Hearing this, Tiberius felt a weird feeling. Usually, eating the meat of rare animals was a royalty thing that only rich people would do, as the servant mentioned. And since he was never one of them, it was an unknown feeling for him. But without too much thought, he took a bite from the bird.

“This… this is amazing,” Tiberius said as he chewed its meat. This wasn’t his first time eating meat or expensive food, but it was the first time that he felt that food could be more than just food. The taste was undeniably the best he'd ever had, so he finished it all without hesitation, including some bread dipped in sauce, which he also finished.

After the main course came a dessert, at least that is what Tibeius thought. They each received a plate full of fruit. There were slices of pineapple, white peaches, and black grapes. He did not argue; in fact, one of the reasons he desired village life was the ability to eat delicious fruits, so he started to eat them.

But something was missing, but only for him.

“Erm, excuse me, but is it possible to get an orange?”

The servant frowned slightly, then looked around to other servants to get an answer.

“Sir, unfortunately I am not familiar with the word, except you mentioned the color itself.”

“No, I meant orange as a fruit,” he tried to explain. “You know, like a tangerine but big and hard to peel.”

Everyone, including King himself, was perplexed because they didn't understand what he was saying.

“Sir, I am afraid we are not familiar with the fruits you mentioned.” servant informed with a fear. It was normal for a servant to feel fear at this moment, because usually they were meant to answer and bring anything that was asked of them. If the king was not satisfied with their service, they would mostly get executed. But this was different, because not just the servants but also the king didn’t know the fruits he mentioned.

“I personally try different dishes and fruits, which is my hobby, but I have never heard of anything like you have mentioned. Maybe it is something from your world?” said the king. Hearing this, the servants calmed down. They were saved by the king from his own wrath.

“Maybe…” said Tiberius. “Forget it, this is good enough,” he said as he stuffed his mouth with the fruits.

King placed his elbow on the table and waved his hand. This was "leave" for all of the servants.

“So…would you mind demonstrating your magic? I would love to see the power of a man who moved the divine sword,” said the king with a smile.

Tiberius looked up with a pineapple piece in his mouth, chewing, and pointed his finger to himself. “Who? Me?”

“Yes, of course, you. But don’t worry, I am not asking you to show your full power; it would be enough to see something that normal daha could not, and then I am satisfied.”

Tiberius chewed the fruit and swallowed it. “I am sorry, but I can’t. I don’t have any magic.”

King frowned. You could say he got angry, but he didn’t. He just wanted to see Tiberius’s powers, and that was all, at least for the time being.

“Look, you don’t have to hide it. Everyone has some level of magic, but I believe yours is truly special. Maybe a class we have never heard of, or one that you are born with. Don’t worry, it will be our little secret.”

Only now does Tiberius understand why he was a guest of the king. It wasn’t because of the hospitality; it was to ask for his power, the power that he did not have.

“I am truly sorry, but I am not hiding anything. I really do not have any magic, neither strong nor weak. I don’t even know how the sword moved.”

King did nothing except smirk at his words.

“Charles!” he called his servant, who immediately showed up. “Help our guest to find a place in the city,” he ordered.

Then the king turned his face to Tiberius.

“The place you mentioned does not exist in this world. Until you figure out your way back home, you will be our guest in the city.”