In the Fading Light

-Gray-

A constant storm followed us overhead as we rode south. The princess was protected through her armor and light. Fulgora didn’t care. And I was protected only by a leather cloak both princesses forced on me before we left.

Fulgora had told the princess about an army of golems spotted near the border between Raedenia and the Kingdom of Earth, Almastia. So we were heading to the southernmost city of Fulgora’s kingdom, Cloudburst, to gather information.

Even with the ever-present storm cloud over us, supposedly Fulgora’s father protecting us, I could make out the massive mountain range to the east, where those who follow the Goddess of Earth live. The afternoon sun made it hard to see as well, casting shadows over the whole thing, but I imagined the mountain would be a beautiful sight in the morning sun.

“You’re going to love Cloudburst!” Fulgora shouted from behind me. Her hands were holding onto my waist as I held the reins of the horse. “No giant tree to block all the rain! And the culvert under the main bridge is amazing! You’ve gotta try riding it!”

“Like a waterslide then?!” I shouted over the rain to her.

“What?!” She responded, cupping her hand over her wolf ear as she bent closer.

“Nevermind!”

Why was I riding with Fulgora, instead of her riding on her own, or goddess-forbid, riding with the princess?

Well, Fulgora doesn’t know how to ride a horse.

Not only does she not know how to ride a horse, but she was so absolutely awful at it too! I let her ‘drive’ for a bit, and within a few minutes, she got too excited and nearly hurt the horse with a tug of the reins.

Horses weren’t made for skidding on mud.

Fulgora doesn’t even need a horse, anyways! She can call upon her demigod powers to run across the country like a lightning bolt streaking across the sky. That’s how she normally travels. On barefoot.

Well, turns out the horses can’t move that fast, and she couldn’t slow herself down, or run at an unenhanced speed fast enough to match the horses.

Reminded me of some of the video games I used to play back home.

So, that’s why Fulgora was riding with me, doing her best to avoid electrocuting me with her hands as I followed behind the princess.

Cloudburst was a city with stone walls around it. The walls were high and thick, and the only openings were either gates, or grates where the massive river went straight through the city walls.

The city gates were closed when we approached, but Fulgora decided to have fun, and stand up on the horse, prepared to do something. I grabbed her leg to cause her to lose her balance before she could do something stupid and electrocute the horse.

She let out a squeaky yelp as she tumbled off the horse, held off the ground only by my hand on her leg.

“Halt!” A guardsman yelled as we approached rapidly, moving to stand in our way. The princess was already slowing down, so I made my move first.

For all her strength, Fulgora was rather light. So it was surprisingly easy to turn the horse and put whatever force I could into throwing her across the wet ground like a curling rock.

“Graaaaaaay!” I heard her yell as she slid through the water on the ground, trying to grip the stone road beneath her and failing, until she collided with the legs of a guard, who caught her.

“Wh- Princess Fulgora?!” The guard recognized her quickly, and helped her up. “What are you doing here?!”

Fulgora ignored him, eyeing up me, and lightning began to spark off of her. “Uh oh…” I barely had time to let go of the reins before she delivered a kick right to my chest, sending us both flying off the horse, sliding down the road, with her riding me like a surfboard.

This time, however, she was laughing with a big smile on her face as my cloak didn’t protect me at all. The scarf thankfully was surprisingly water-resistant, and wasn’t trying to drown me.

Unlike Fulgora’s tumble, I was a lot better at this, and with a twist of my body, tossed her off, stood up, and froze her ankles to the ground.

The princess was already entering the city, looking at us with some unknown expression through her helmet as she led my horse behind hers. I chased after her, wanting to hurry before Fulgora escalated.

And of course, the guards stopped me, since I was just some guy who happened to be here. That, and I threw Fulgora around and restrained her.

“You’re not going anywhere.” One guard said, a spear at my neck. “You can’t just toss around the Lady of Lightning like that! You’re under arrest!”

“Hey! I won’t have anyone treating my friend like that!” Fulgora appeared next to me, arms in front of me, as she glared at the guards. “We’re just playing. And if you don’t like it, you can take it up with my father!”

A strike of lightning, followed by a loud crash of thunder behind us lended credence to her words.

The guards, pale-faced, helmets ringing, moved aside to let us in, and Fulgora began walking backwards into the city, giving a thumbs-up and smile to the cloud above us.

But she was limping slightly, a red mark around her ankles. Did she hurt herself breaking out of the ice shackles?

I slapped her on the back, sending a healing pulse through her, and she just turned and grinned wildly. A moment later, her arm wrapped around my neck, and she began giving me a noogie with light shocks from her knuckles.

Fulgora was saying something, but I was more focused on the guard that suddenly began sprinting from their post at the top of the wall above the gate. They began running higher up the wall, towards the mansion at the highest point of the city.

Before I could bring it up, the princess coughed loudly, catching both of our attention as she sat atop her horse, looking down at both of us through her helmet, lips frowning. “Fulgora, you said there was a suitable place to stay for the night?” She spoke, waiting for us to approach.

Fulgora rolled her eyes and let go of me. “Yeah, top of the hill, there’s an estate the crown uses. Thor, the old man’s oldest, should be in charge of the city, and he’ll definitely let us crash.”

“Crash? I do not intend to do any damage to his property or people.” The princess stated as she began to slowly trot down the stone road, my horse following her as we walked alongside.

Fulgora cackled. “Nah, crash like ‘I’mma crash on your couch.’”

I could feel the confusion coming from the princess. “It means we’re staying there, unannounced.”

She seemed to understand now, but wasn’t pleased. “I see. We should have sent a message ahead then. I feel ashamed that I do not even have a gift.”

“Pfft, why do you care about a gift? You didn’t give the old man one. No one really cares.” Fulgora crossed her arms behind her head, and kicked at a stream of water going across the road.

“I care.” The princess snapped. “As the crown princess of Aureaton, it is within my duty to seek assistance from the crowned rulers of every kingdom. But to impose on the lord in charge of a city, without warning or gift? Those manners are inexcusable. You two go on ahead, I shall consult with my goddess, and acquire a gift to appease this error.”

With that, the princess hopped off her horse, handed me the reins, and disappeared down another street.

Fulgora and I shared a glance, before shrugging, and continuing our walk upwards.

Cloudburst was a lot like the other cities and towns I’ve seen in this kingdom, but with way more stones than trees that the capital had. The city was built in a circle, split in half by a river moving through. On the east half, where we entered, was normal residential and business buildings.

This side had a spiral shape to it. Everything built in a way to draw water downwards to the river in the middle. Even the roads weren’t cobblestone, but some type of stone with as little gaps as possible, so water would slide easily past it. It almost reminded me of the asphalt roads back home.

On the west half, were the fancier buildings, and military installations, built onto a large hill. Larger than the east half, and a fancy mansion stood at the peak, overlooking the whole city.

As we were walking our way up the west-side road, I noticed guards showing up, saluting Fulgora, and then moving in formation behind us. One attempted to take the reins from me, but I refused. Some even tried to strike up a conversation with Fulgora.

She seemed a little uncomfortable at the attention, and chose to talk to me instead to ward off the guards. “So, how about once we get settled in, you and I can go a few rounds in the courtyard?” She wagged an eyebrow.

“You’ll teach me how to fistfight?”

She grinned. “You betcha. I want to see what kind of fighter you become when you actually get something beyond just otherworldly magic. And with your healing magic, we can go all night~”

I just rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t stop my smile.

The manor at the top of the city was entirely stone, and reminded me of the Palace of Versailles. It sported the usual color theme I see the royal family use here. Stormy colors, lots of gold, topaz, and plenty of copper rods. And everything was designed with a slope to let water spill off into the aqueducts.

There was a prominent statue of the god of thunder in front of the manor, a muscular fighter posing like a bodybuilder with copper electricity wrapped around his fists. Magnificent beard though.

I only let go of the reins when I saw the stable next to the manor, while Fulgora scared off the squadron of guards following us with a growl and crack of lightning.

“I am caught off guard by your sudden visit," Thor, a noble very reminiscent of his father, with an elegant haircut for his deep yellow hair that framed his summer cloud-like eyes. He wore a toga, and had a thick fur collar cloak that did little to hide the muscles he had. “I believe this is the first time you’ve sought me out, Sister-”

In a moment, Fulgora was in front of Thor, fist pulled back, lightning crackling, and eyes promising death.

Within that moment, Thor went from a snooty royal, to a quivering child, collapsed on the floor, covering his face and squealing like a pig. “Aaaah! Please! No! I’m sorry!”

Fulgora never intended to punch, but she didn’t even smile at Thor’s action. She just crouched over him, and glared at him right in the eye. “I am not your sister.” With that said, she stood up, and walked away from him. “My friend and I are traveling with Princess Aurelia, so we’re going to be staying for a while.”

Thor didn’t even get up, just crawling back a little, breathing heavily. “S-staying? Whatever for?”

She crossed her arms and turned towards a window, showing the darkening sky. The storm was blocking the sun, but it was definitely getting late. “Some golems have been spotted-”

“A lot of golems.” I corrected.

“A lot of golems have been spotted around. We’re here to figure out why and…” Fulgora glanced at me.

“Stop the production if it’s related to the recent attacks in Aureaton.”

“Yeah, that. Nothing you need to be concerned with. Just stay locked up in your little playhouse while we do the job you should have been doing.” Fulgora grabbed my wrist, and pulled me along down a hallway.

“Aren’t we going to stop by our rooms first?”

She looked at me strangely. “We have no possessions. What reason is there to stop? Nah, we’re training.”

“What about the princess?”

“She’ll be fine. Look.” Fulgora pointed out a window, where a beam of light was cutting through the clouds across the city. “And dad’s watching over us all. We’ll be fine.”

“Uh huh… sure…”

“Look at this idiot. He put a cover over the arena? Too afraid to get wet while training? What a loser.” Fulgora laughed as she led me to the backyard, where a stone arena a lot like the one outside the castle was laid, with a cloth tent set up above it.

A crack of lightning from above, and the tent was burning up. Fulgora had the biggest smile on her face, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see Thor fuming from a window, thinking he was hidden.

I sighed, a smile forming on my own face.