33 Calm before the Storm

"The City of Turah? That's almost five hundred kilometers from here." Aleyria frowned. She was seated upon her beautiful white horse and her three bodyguards were also upon their red steeds, all ready to start their hunt for the dragon. 

"Yes, it is. I need to be there as soon as possible. Can you teleport us there?" Alexander asked hopefully.

"Of course not. I could only teleport short distances, a kilometer or two. Three kilometers should be my maximum range with my current power level. And definitely not with so many people and supplies." She glanced at her three bodyguards who were each holding the reins of a spare horse carrying their supplies. 

"Sigh. Then we have to make the ride. A single day's worth of hard riding should get us there." Alexander sighed. 

"With support from life magic, we should be able to do exactly that." Aleyria nodded in agreement. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Alexander nodded. "Absolutely." 

Aleyria glanced up at him and nodded as well. If that's what he wants to do, then so be it. She'll lend her support fully and unconditionally. 

Alexander sent his demon horse cantering forward. However, it was so large and powerful that its canter was like a normal horse's gallop. 

"Hear that girls? We're making a stop at the City of Turah first. Let's go!" Aleyria nudged her horse gently and sent it galloping after Alexander. 

Within minutes, they left the City's Western Gate and began their journey. It was going to be a long day. 

Behind her, Shira, Kan-Dari and Liz'An were engaging in their usual banter even though they were almost at full gallop.

"Yes!" Shira shouted happily. "We're going to the City of Turah!"

"Have you ever been there, Shira?" Liz'An said from above her massive horse. She was so big and heavy that she had already begun to slowly inject her horse with verdant energy, to make sure that it could last as long as possible. 

"No, I haven't! I have never left the City of Rin. In fact, I rarely even leave the Royal Palace!" Shira replied.

"You're a… a toad in the well!" Kan-Dari shouted victoriously, knowing that she had used the phrase correctly this time. 

"Frog." Aleyria and Shira said almost simultaneously. Shira burst into laughter. 

"Well, yes. I'm quite the frog in the well." Shira said rather ruefully. "But ever since I joined you guys, I'm slowly starting to broaden my horizons. And I think it's great this way too, there are so many new things to experience and new sights to see! Every day seems like a great adventure." 

"Yes, and I am sure you'll enjoy your visit to the City of Turah. It's as beautiful as the City of Rin!" Liz'An said.

"Really? How so?" 

"Well, as you know, Rin was called the Garden City by many people. It is the seat of power in our country. The Royal Palace is there. Turah, however, was called the Holy City. It is the seat of religion in the country! There are many beautiful temples there, dedicated to worshipping all sorts of Gods! Of course the largest and most powerful temple is still the Temple of Magius, God of Magic." Liz'An explained.

"Yes! I've been there before. It's massive and so, very, very beautiful!" Kan-Dari interjected excitedly. "The temple itself has three beautiful spires, rising so high into the sky! They're gold in colour, and every evening, they will glow beautifully against the backdrop of the setting sun. Ah, what a sight it was!"

"Wow! It sounds wonderful!"

"Do you also know why our country is called Rin-Turah, after these two cities?" Aleyria asked them.

"Well… I recall something about that story from history class.. About a man called Lord Turah and a woman called Lady Rin? I forgot most of it. Heheheh." Shira scratched her head sheepishly. 

"I know! I've read all about it before I became a citizen!" Kan-Dari answered Aleyria eagerly and launched into a narrative on Rin-Turah's history. 

"The City of Turah was the City of Rin's brother city, so to speak. The two cities were named after Lord Turah and Lady Rin, the two heroes of the country, back when the country was still a huge swath of wilderness with only clusters of villages here and there. 

According to the official records, thousands of years ago, a fearsome snake monster had appeared with an even more fearsome flying monster hot in pursuit. The two battled for a long time, yet were unable to kill the other. They fell into an impasse and began to settle down to lick their wounds. 

However, their settling down simply meant one thing to the villages - death! The monsters hunted both human beings and other monsters alike, seeking the nutrients to recover their heavy wounds. Day after day, the death toll rose unceasingly."

"Oh no… What happened next?" Shira stared at Kan-Dari with wide open eyes. 

"It was during this time that the two heroes answered the desperate cries for help that resounded across the lands. Lord Turah was the Chieftain of a relatively large village. He was an acolyte of the God of Magic, Magius, and was the most powerful mage in the wilderness. He trekked alone to the lair of the nearest monster - the snake horror the villagers called Black Death. A single bite from the snake was so venomous that the victim would almost instantly turn black and die. Thus its name.

Upon reaching its lair, a great battle ensued. Lord Turah managed to fatally wound the snake, but just as he was about to retreat, the snake spat out a glob of poisonous blood at him. Lord Turah dodged the glob with great agility. But alas, the glob of blood splashed on the ground near him and a single drop of blood hit his arm. 

He died even before he could leave the snake's lair! It was so tragic!" As she spoke to here, Kan-Dari's voice broke a little as a single tear escaped her eye. 

"Noooo!!" Shira cried out sadly. "Poor Lord Turah!!"

"What happened to the other monster?" Liz'An asked curiously.

"Well, around that same moment, a few hundred kilometers away, another fearsome battle was taking place. Lady Rin was the daughter of the Village Chieftain in that area. She was a powerful warrior and mage. She led the warriors of the village to attack the flying monster before it could fully recover. It was a disaster from the start. Although it was injured, it could still fly. And so it took to the skies and began to kill Lady Rin's warriors one by one. 

Lady Rin couldn't bear to see her friends die that way, so she leapt onto the flying monster the next time it swooped down. She clung on to it as it flew back to the sky. Lady Rin stabbed it multiple times and finally killed it. But as the monster fell to the ground, it took Lady Rin with it. She did not survive the fall."

"Waaaaa!!" Shira was a soft-hearted young woman, and so she was rather affected by the tragic story. 

"To commemorate the two heroes, the people of the region created two cities at the place where they died. And so, the City of Rin and the City of Turah was created. When the people finally decided to create a country, they simply called it Rin-Turah, to give the ultimate honor to the two heroes who saved them all." Kan-Dari finally finished her story.

Liz'An nodded and said, 'This country truly deserved to be called Rin-Turah. Their sacrifice would be remembered for all time."

"Yes, well only if they remember what they were taught in history class, though." Kan-Dari said while blinking innocently at Shira who was still sniffing slightly.

"It's probably because I've never been to the City of Turah. If I've been there, I would probably remember the story too! It's not my fault that I've never been on any adventures. But now that I'm out adventuring, I'll probably remember all sorts of historical stories!" Shira declared confidently.

"Yes, that's great. From now on, your full title will be Shira the Adventurous Frog!" Kan-Dari looked at Shira and giggled cutely at her own teasing.  Obviously she was superimposing the image of a frog over Shira. 

"Yes, yes. And you're Kan-Dari the Annoying Fly! Watch me hop over there and eat you alive!" Shira stood up on her horse with great agility and made a pouncing pose.

"Eeeek!! Mistress! Shira has gone crazy!!" Kan-Dari yelped. She tried to steer her horse slightly away from Shira. But it was too late! Shira actually made the leap!

Hap!

"KYAAA!!" Poor Kan-Dari screamed in shock. Behind her, Shira was hugging her and laughing uproariously in excitement. 

Liz'An shook her head helplessly and sent a tendril of wind energy to grab hold of the reins of both Shira's mount and spare. 

Both Alexander and Aleyria glanced back at the ruckus being made from the back. Alexander's eyes widened in surprise. "These girls are rather… active." He commented laughingly. 

He slowed down his horse to draw level with Aleyria.

Aleyria frowned and was about to order the girls to behave when Alexander interrupted her.

"It's alright, leave them be for the moment. It's going to be a long and painful ride, they'll tire soon enough. You can chide them then when they're fully experiencing the pain. It'll probably be much more effective then." 

Aleyria glanced at Alexander and smiled. She liked the idea of nagging at her three clowns when they were moaning in pain from the hours of riding, made worse by their meaningless antics throughout the day. 

"You're a great leader, Alexander." Aleyria said with a smile.

Alexander gave Aleyria a toothy grin. "Do you want to know my secret?"

"Sure!" Aleyria's mind was stirred. She was curious about the bizarre yet effective way Alexander's mind worked.

"Well, it's actually very simple. You simply need to understand 2 words. Pain and Pleasure." Alexander began.

"Pain and pleasure.." Aleyria repeated with a slightly contemplative look.

"Yes. Human beings will automatically avoid pain and gravitate towards pleasure. If you are able to associate pain with a certain action, say jumping from horse to horse in a long and hard trip, for example, the human mind will remember that. And it will work to avoid that pain in the future. In the same way, if you associate pleasure with an action, the human mind will try and achieve that again in the future as well." Alexander's voice was filled with aged wisdom.

"Hmmmm." Aleyria's eyes brightened as she nodded enthusiastically.

"Hmmm, that's actually pretty good." Buccephalas agreed as well.

"Your job tonight is to make the association between their painfully sore bodies and their mischievous antics through your.. Ah, timely and caring admonition." Alexander grinned again.

"You must be a great King back home." Aleyria gave Alexander a conspiratorial smile. 

"Home…" Alexander whispered. His eyes clouded slightly as he thought about home. He was almost certainly the person with the most land back on earth. But he had been away from home for so long, he never really felt like he actually had one in his years of campaigning. 

"Tell me about your home, Alexander." Aleyria said after a while.

Alexander turned to look at her in surprise. She looked back at him and smiled warmly. 

Seeing that beautiful smile, Alexander felt something warm arising in his heart. He glanced back at the three girls, then raised an eyebrow at Aleyria.

"It's alright. I trust them." Aleyria said softly.

Alexander nodded. "My home is called Macedonia…"

The minutes ticked by and Alexander found himself telling Aleyria much of his personal story. From his childhood, his first battle, to even the deaths of his close friends Cleitus, Parmenio and Hephaestion. 

Alexander was a great story teller, and Aleyria was a very attentive audience. She listened closely, gasping with ooohs and ahhhs at the appropriate parts of the story. At some unknown part of his story, even the three girls behind quieted down and pulled close to Alexander, listening intently to his glorious yet sometimes poignant story. 

"So right before I started my Arabian Campaign, I was kidnapped and sent here." Alexander concluded his story rather ruefully.

He turned back to look at the three girls, who were staring at him with awestruck, confused and disbelieving expressions.

Alexander laughed and said to Aleyria. "I'll leave the explanation to the three girls for you to do." He winked at her and increased his speed to slightly pull away from the girls.

Aleyria shook her head with a smile and said to the three girls. "Listen closely, girls. What I am about to tell you is a national secret. Make sure you don't tell this to anybody else, alright?"

The three girls nodded vigorously in unison. 

"King Aloxandros, my teacher, is dead." At this, Aleyria felt a sharp pain in her heart. She had thought she had gotten over it. But apparently, she hadn't. 

"Wh-what do you mean, mistress?" Kan-Dari asked with a tinge of fear in her voice. "Isn't he right there?" She pointed at Alexander.

"Unless… that's an undead!" Shira exclaimed in horror.

Kan-Dari flinched in shock. 

Liz'An simply stared at Aleyria calmly. She believed in her mistress deeply. If she was fine with it, then everything should be alright.

"He's not an undead!" Aleyria said firmly. "He's a living being. It's just that… His soul is no longer King Aloxandros. It is King Alexander. He was kidnapped by a higher civilisation and his soul was transplanted into King Aloxandros's body when King Aloxandros died from the poison."

"Higher civilisation? What do you mean by higher, Mistress?" Liz'An asked.

"King Aloxandros is dead?" Shira asked in a small voice.

Aleyria sighed deeply. 

"Yes he's dead. And higher meaning much more advanced and powerful than us." Aleyria's voice was both pensive and troubled. It was not an easy topic to discuss. She did not say that higher could and most probably mean that they (higher civilization) were in control of their (Aleyria and company) entire planet.

Silence reigned for a moment, with only the sound of hooves galloping upon the road to accompany them. 

Soon, a minor town called Valarin came into view. It was one of Rin-Turah's trademark open town with no walls. Buildings simply started sprouting up at some point and continued until they stopped at the other side of town. 

Ahead of them, Alexander reined on his horse suddenly and stopped. Aleyria and her three guards immediately pulled up behind him as well. 

"What's wrong?" Aleyria asked.

Alexander was frowning slightly as he glanced around. "It's too quiet."