Someplace foreign

Chapter 18

Naoya and Ori stand on the small viewing deck of their “carriage”, which was actually just a wooden platform with a door and stairs on each side, being pulled by two horses. They lean forward, eyes wide, as the kingdom’s environment unravels around them. The greenery became thicker deeper into the forest, and hundreds of houses and structures were built along the towering tree trunks, leaving only roads and massive buildings built on the ground.

“I’ve never seen architecture like this before,” she remarks.

“And the animals are so cool, too! Look at that!” Naoya says, pointing at a dark bird with long and elegant feathers.

After a while, they get called back by Greta, and they enter the door behind them, a portal that leads to the passenger area. A large, fully furnished lodging, complete with a lounge, a kitchen, a bathroom, and even some small upstairs bedrooms.

“Get yourselves ready. We’re about to reach the castle,” Greta tells them as she tied her hair in a ponytail, and everyone else in the room seemed busy too, moving around and preparing their formal uniforms: a long trench coat and simple but elegant suit and pants, all bearing the Aetheryn Order’s signature blue and gold color scheme.

The Trainee Knight, meanwhile, wore mantles instead of trench coats, as well as berets, similar to the ones Astrea usually wore, giving them a distinguishable “junior” vibe compared to the Knights.

Everyone was getting ready, except for one. A muscular person was curled up on a couch near the fireplace, covered in a blanket.

Captain Eiren and Captain Bellan walk down the stairs, coming from the rooms on the second floor. They smile at everyone as they descend.

“Since everyone’s ready now, we’ll be at the castle in a few minutes. Just bring your personal gear with you. All of our luggage will be teleported into our accommodations,” Captain Eiren clears his throat. “For any person left inside the carriage once we leave, they’ll be teleported directly into the Greenwood Bastion’s Security Wing for questioning,” he adds, looking towards the fireplace.

“I’m going with you guys, okay? No need to threaten me!” Ana emerges from her blankets and stands up, fully dressed in her formal Knight uniform.

“We weren’t doing anything. We just told everyone in case someone falls asleep or whatever,” Captain Bellan replies with a smirk.

“Aaaaahhhhh, how did they find me?! I didn’t leave any clues about where I was going, and I made SURE no one found out I was in Valebryn,” Ana rambles about her plan’s failure, but everyone simply looked at each other after her last line, trying to hide their laughter or shaking their head.

They eventually arrive at the home of Jaruna Kingdom’s monarchs, the Greenwood Bastion. A beautiful white castle built within an enormous ‘ironbark’ tree, with its wide mahogany trunk spanning several sports fields. Their carriage parked in the castle’s expansive courtyard, along with several others, also carrying Aetheryn Order Knights and trainees.

Naoya’s group stepped outside to witness a double line of faunite soldiers, formidable warriors with incredibly well-defined bodies, showcased by their sleeveless armor that had special modifications for their animalistic features, like wings, tails and horns. They formed a path towards the castle’s entrance, and the Knights assembled in front of their carriages. Naoya and everyone in their group found Ana wearing a beret, like the trainees, in order to hide her ears. Captain Eiren tried flicking it away with magic, but Ana held on to it like an embarrassed, muscular child, and he simply sighed.

A shadow swept across the scene, and soon after, a man with majestic eagle wings landed in front of them, bowing toward the Knights.

“To our esteemed guests from the Western Kingdom of Valebryn, the Aetheryn Order. I, General Horius von Zoric of the Emerald Legion, welcome you to the Emerald Kingdom of Jaruna.”

A cloud of smoke appears before him, being swept back by an unseen force, and from the smoke emerges a tall, weathered man wearing a wide-brimmed leather hat.

“On behalf of the Western Kingdom of Valebryn and as Prime Sentinel of the Aetheryn Order, we extend our thank you’s… or something like that. Damn it.” Sir Valiansteel replies, frustrated after forgetting his line. “To hell with that fancy speak. Thanks for inviting us over and organizing this here military exercise between our kingdoms. I’m sure it’ll do good to whip these youngins into perfect, kingdom-protectin’ shape.”

The winged general scoffs. “Still forgetting your formalities, Langston?”

“Still got fleas on your feathers, Horius?”

Both men laugh and lock their hands in a warrior’s greeting, followed by a brotherly pat on the back.

“I ain’t gonna be stayin’ too long, though. Got more things to work on back home.”

“Ah, but you’ll be staying for the banquet, yes?”

“Only reason I’m here. Let’s catch up after we get these youngins settled.”

“Alright then, Knights. We’ll be going through a brief introduction of the Bastion first, then you will be led to your accommodations. After that, at 18th hour tonight, we’ll gather at the Grand Hall for the Welcoming Banquet, is that clear?”

The Knights respond with a resounding “yes, sir!” and they start their procession into the castle, being led by the General and Sir Valiansteel.

The Greenwood Bastion incorporated a lot of natural aesthetics in its design. Wooden pillars with ornamental vines, stone floors covered with a clear resin to provide visual texture but still be comfortable to walk on, and various other ornaments that makes it as if the castle was not built on the tree, but simply grew along with it. The captain toured them through several places in the castle and pointed out some off-limit areas as well. Naoya and their group constantly looked out for Ana, keeping her head down the whole time. Despite her efforts, several people in the castle gave her puzzled looks, possibly recognizing her.

The tour ends in the western building of the castle, and General Horius instructs the Knights to freshen up and prepare for the banquet in less than an hour. Each Unit was given separate spaces, and Naoya stayed with Cipher Unit. The room had several beds, large glass windows that gave them a beautiful view of the forest and the sunset in the background, and enough free space to move around, prompting Ori to lie down on the floor. They all rested up after half a day of travel, but before they knew it, they were once again in their formal wear, heading to the Great Hall.

“So, I’ve never been to a royal banquet before. What should I do? What shouldn’t I do?” Naoya asks the group, fidgeting with his mantle.

“Just be normal. Remember manners. Royalty is there. Foreign Royalty. Maintain Valebryn's image,” Astrea tells him.

“Yeah, and don’t pull out any weapons. I learned that the hard way when I got kicked out of a party like this before. I just wanted to show them my cute wand,” Clara says as she raises her wand into the air, causing Captain Eiren and Tessa to pull her arms down and hide her weapon.

“What? I wasn’t gonna use it, okay? I just wanted to show everyone my weapon!”

They arrived at the banquet, and almost everyone’s jaws fell to the floor at the sight. The circular Great Hall was built on the side of the tree, causing one half of it to be shaded underneath the gigantic trunk, lit up by countless lamps, and the other half in open air, giving a place for guests to admire the kingdom’s dominion and the sky above them.

One side of the hall was lined with hundreds of Jaruna cuisines and delicacies, dwarfing the buffets that Naoya had visited before in Japan. Several tables were scattered near the food, and on the opposite side of the hall was a simple stage, decorated with curtains bearing the Royal Crest of Jaruna — a green tree with flowering vines twisting around its branches and the golden sun behind it.

“Captain, can’t I just wait in the room until this is over? I really don’t want to be here,” Ana pleads, still wearing the beret and trying to raise her trench coat’s collar to hide her face.

“No, Ana. You’ll be more suspicious if you’re not with us, and honestly your efforts to hide are just making you stand out more,” Captain Eiren replies, causing her to stop fiddling with her collar.

“I might have something here you can use,” Tessa says as she pulls out a large, glass fishbowl from inside her trench coat. “Just put it over your head, then you can choose a new face to project over your own.”

“Oh, thank you, Tess! You’re a lifesaver,” Ana replies as she grabs the fishbowl and disappears under her trench coat, which flops onto the floor. She reemerges after a few moments with a weird new head.

“Uhhh… I can’t customize the disguises. It only lets me choose between some preset ones,” she says with her new face: a man with short hair and a lighter skin tone than the rest of her body.

“I uhhh… haha… Yeah, I just… heh… I just started… working on it. I haven’t added that feature yet,” Tessa replies, struggling to hold her laughter like everyone in the group. Even Greta.

“Aww, and I thought I was safe,” Ana says as she takes off the fishbowl and hands it back to Tessa.

“Hey, maybe they’ll never even notice. There’s a bunch of people here anyway”.

Ana simply sighed. “Hopefully.”

At that moment, a faunite woman walks onto the stage and speaks into a glass microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen, guests from afar. Please all rise for House von Skalbjorn.”

“Oh no,” Tessa says, walking to the back of the group and turning her trench coat’s collar into a hood, covering her head with it.

Everyone stands up as the large stone statue of a muscular bear faunite man emerges from the stage, and a group of people enters the hall. First was a mature faunite woman with short brown hair and bear ears, wearing a traditional silken, sleeveless Jaruna dress. After her were two younger ladies who shared the bear features but wore the warriors’ sleeveless armor instead, along with short simple capes. They were followed by a few more well-dressed faunites of different shapes and features, but one of them immediately caught Naoya’s attention.

Grey fox ears, and a thick tail. Long, silvery grey hair, ending with white tips. She wore a midnight blue, robe-like dress that reached the floor, not sleeveless like the others but still exposing her shoulders. The deep hue of her dress perfectly contrasts with her lighter hair and fur.

She had a slender frame and gently walks with her eyes closed, giving her a more elegant and calm impression compared to most faunites Naoya had encountered today. Perhaps it was this contrast that drew his attention.

His eyes follow her as the procession climbs onto the stage. The spotlights follow the woman in the dress as she elegantly approaches the statue and with a quick punch, she shatters it into a hundred pieces. To everyone’s surprise, the rubble stirs and someone emerges: a large man with bear ears, wearing a sleek dark green tunic with golden embellishments. He poses for a bit, flexing his muscles, and leaps into the open space at the center of the hall.

“Welcome to Jaruna!” he gleefully shouts across the hall with his deep voice.

Everyone cheers and claps at the King’s entrance, and Naoya, along with everyone in their group, smiles at Ana, who could do nothing but hide her face in embarrassment.