It’s Time?

Year 2,734 s.a. Month: Harvestmoon. Day: 1st Waterday. Time: morning

Location: airship nearing Merberath

- We shall shortly be arriving at Merberath. –

The man looked out the window on his left. The airship was on its approach to Merberath, the City of Thousand Jewels. Movement on his right caught his attention. A flight attendant fidgeted under his gaze.

- The Captain would like to know if you have enjoyed your trip. He would also like to apologise for any inconvenience, we do not usually host people of your stature amongst our passengers. –

- That is fine anonymity is what we were aiming for. –

Interrupted the Knight. The attendant's eyes briefly flickered to the other empty seat.

- How long until landing? –

- 15 minutes Sir Lansiti. –

The Knight looked thoughtful for a moment and looked back to the view of Merberath. Looking back to the flight attendant he handed the book he had been reading.

- Please have our luggage sent to the entrance. –

- Yes Sir. –

The attendant bowed with quite a lot of exuberance and left. Lansiti raised an eyebrow at the attendant's behaviour but said nothing. He turned back to the empty seat in front of him.

- You can come out now Agrigent. –

In front of him Agrigent, Knight of 9, shimmered into view. The blonde chuckled at his fellow Knight and comrade.

- I had no wish to be subjected to the crews fangirling. –

- Yet you were the one to drag me on this commercial flight. So much for anonymity. –

- Better have the suspicion of our return than the unquestioned certainty that using our airship would have caused. Plus it is not as if the trip was that horrendous. The cabin we received was pretty good and so was the food. –

- If we ignore the fact that every 15 minutes a different crew member came to attend to us, and further ignoring that this trip was only 3 hours? Then yes it was a good trip. – Sir Lansiti deadpanned.

Sir Agrigent looked sheepish and smiled uncertainly at his superior.

- No use crying over spilt milk Nader we are here at least. –

Still looking unimpressed Lansiti answered.

- You mean at last. –

- Please return to your seats we will momentarily be landing. –

Came from the speakers and cut off any further conversation between the Knights of Arkanus.

The knights disembarked first. Despite the earliness of the day as their arrival was noticed as whispers could be heard as the Knights walked through the terminal. Dressed in black trousers with gold lining, the coat was white on the left and black on the right. The uniform was completed with a silvery black ankle length cape. It was a single shoulder cape that hung on the left shoulder and was tied to the Imperial Crest on the right lapel by three golden cords. They did cut out an impressive figure. They were the elite amongst the elites. The guard dogs of the Empire. They were the Knights of Arkanus, a special existence in the Empire. They inspired fear, respect, greed, hate. Answering only to the Ruler of Leivathan Himself, The Solidas.

Rounding a corner Sir Lansiti slammed into another body. The impact left him standing but the other person was sent to the floor. At least it would have been the case had it not been for Sir Lansiti's reflexes.

- So sorry about that, I'm in a rush and I wasn't looking. I need to catch an airship and I am running late. I know it doesn't excuse things but I… —

A panicked female voice babbled her apologies as she picked up her scattered belongings.

- No harm done miss. –

- Really? –

The teal haired girl looked up from where she was picking up her belongings.

- Truly all is fine, Lansiti is tougher than he looks. In fact we should be worried if you are alright. –

Sir Agrigent interjected as he picked up the last case and handed it over the teal haired girl. He dutifully ignored the look sent his way by Sir Lansiti.

- Knights of Arkanus! Oh by Alde'inor grace I just body slammed a member of the black squad. – She squawked – truly sorry about this. –

- Like I said no harm done, simply be more careful in the future. –

- Thank you. –

- This is the final call for flight XF87 to Cephiead Academy. –

- Oops, that's my call. I've got to go. Nice meeting you-

She accepted the last bag from Sir Agrigent and left in a hurry.

- Sorry coming through. Move out the way. Coming through. –

Could be heard getting softer and softer as the teal haired girl moved further away from them.

Sir Lansiti was brought out of his thoughts as Sir Agrigent whispered softly in his ear.

- That shade of green, doesn't it remind you of… –

Sir Lansiti turned and continued on their journey. Once inside the tinted car Lansiti allowed a thought to cross his mind 'indeed, strange coincidence'.

Year 2,734 s.a. Month: Harvestmoon. Day: Waterday. Time: afternoon

Location: Imperial Palace of Merberath

The corridor was sparsely light and muted footsteps could be heard in the silence. A shadow could be seen nearing the end of the corridor to an open space that was well lit. At first glance they seemed to be lightly guarded but if one extended their prana they would feel the security measures in place. The footsteps belonged to Sir Lansiti as he stepped out of one of the many hidden passages and came to a stop in-front of an imposing pair of double doors. They were not only impressive in their size and the amount of details etched onto them but also by the many security seals that pulsed through them. To the naked eye two things stood out, the massive Imperial crest located in the middle of the white accacia wood and the lack of door handle. The doors were guarded on either side by two guards holding a halberd and in dark coloured armor emblazoned with the imperial crest on their chest cuirass.

The guards acknowledged Sir Lansiti's presence with a slight tilt of their halberd. With a returning nod, he placed a gloved hand on the doors. He supplied the security seals with a bit of his prana and waited for the scan completion. He didn't have to wait long. A security sigil appeared and glowed white once.

- Scan completed. Welcome Knight of Three, Sir Lansiti. -

A lilting voice that was neither male nor female announced as the double doors swung open. Sir Lansiti stepped through into a boudoir. Immediately his human features shifted, lender dark horns twisting inside out appeared, his pupils split and scales appeared around his eyes and on his cheek bones. the change in appearance was not unexpected. There were spells in the Imperial Palace that did not allow for people to walk about wearing glamours for the safety of the Imperial household. The boudoir was such an area that stripped the occupants of any cloaking spells.

The room Sir Lansiti walked in was azure with gold and silver decorations. There was A rug in the middle and several chairs spread out on either side of the room. At the far end was the only other exit, another set of double doors. Sir Lansiti crossed the room and the doors opened as he neared to enter a boudoir of gold and all imaginable shades of blue. The boudoir was expertly and magnificently decorated. What caught the eye was the large open bay window that covered the front and right side of the boudoir. The bay opened to a garden and a glimpse of a fountain could be seen. Amongst this sea of gold and blue hues was a burgundy and black veined table. It was situated in front of the bay window on top of a large circular prussian goldenrod carpet. Behind the table was a navy canapé with aurulent cushions and sky blue embroidery. On the left side of the table was a cream loveseat with small star blue and hay embroidered cushions. On the other side also a cream coloured sofa but with large star blue and hay cushions. Four dark blue seats were placed on either corner of the table.

Looking to the left side of the room was a buffet made of merielle wood. On top of the buffet was a tea set. Three shelves situated above the buffet also of merielle contained on the top two books and last one porcelain.

Despite the beauty of the room the Knight of Arkanus swiftly and quietly crossed the boudoir to the opened glass door on the far right and arrived in a garden. It was a beautiful garden not too big but not too small either filled with various colourful flowers. The garden had a paved road in the middle of it was a square with a fountain. A road on the left led to a covered gazebo. Sir Lansiti turned to the right of the fountain. He walked up the stairs of the patio and knocked once on the curtained glass doors. He waited a few seconds and then entered. The room was massive in size, bigger than the boudoir and was less furnished than the latter. The bedroom, painted in the imperial violet with argent contours, contained a king's size canopy bed with a bedside table.

He approached the person in bed and bowed.

- Greetings LunaNera may your moonlight guide us to Evangelium. –

Bed sheets rustling was heard. The drape was fully pulled back.

- Always so prompt and formal Nader. –

In bed was LunaNera Alexei mei Luceedia Magnethesia, Leivathan Archmagus, second to none but the Emperor himself.

- Ophelia, if you would. – He called out.

A woman with a lion-like crimson mane, dark red ridged horns and red wine eyes materialised out of seemingly nowhere. She too was dressed in the same uniform as Sir Lansiti, denoting that she was also a Knight of Arkanus.

- LunaNera. – She bowed.

LunaNera mei Luceedia Magnethesia looked very tired, his signature silver hair had gained unusual black highlights and one of his horns was broken. Etrain, the illness that occurred when one used their prana at maximum capacity over a sustained long period of time. It prematurely aged a person and this could truly be seen on LunaNera's hands as scales fell off on their own. Draconiem are known for their longevity, longevity known to equal and rival that of spyrite and tenebrae. At 2567 years of age the equivalent of mid-30's in human years and such obvious signs of etrain on such a powerful figure was disheartening.

- Do not look so disheartened the both of you. – He chuckled. – This was unavoidable, my time has come. It was simply earlier than expected. There are many matters still at hand that need to be done whether I am here to witness them or not is irrelevant. –

- Your Imperial Majesty, if you would lower your prana consummation then these effects… – Ophelia hazarded.

- I would gain what? A week? A month? It is too late for that I am already at the final stage of etrain. I have been living on borrowed time. – He sighed and looked past them both into the garden.

- Etrain is not the only thing that is killing me. –

He refocused on the Knights.

- Where does your loyalty and that of the remaining knights belong? Can I entrust you with the future of this Empire? –

He scrutinised them and waited. He did not have to wait long. Ophelia Flameheart stepped forward.

- As a Knight of Arkanus our loyalty is to the Empire then to the Solidas. Solidas come and go but the Empire is eternal. –

His Imperial Majesty laughed and then coughed. Painful hacking heaving coughs. Blood spilling through his cupped hand.

- Did you know that the Emperor and I were soulmates? – He spoke looking at his blood covered hand. The two knights had a sharp breath intake.

- How … –

- How am I still alive despite the death of Yann'ou? I do not know, what I do know is that in a week or maybe less… – LunaNera trailed off. He took a breath and steadied himself.

- As LunaNera, husband to the late Solidas, last ruling pillar of Leivathan. I, Alexei mei Luceedia Magnethesia, give my final order. Delay the news of our death for as long as possible. Do not allow the Luria to have regency, but give it to Imperial Noble Consort Lu'usien nui Luceedia Magnethesia. Seek out Her Holiness Celest'ia in order to confirm the selection of Solia. Seek out the leaders and heirs of the Principalities, Duchies and Marquess. Remind them of their oaths to the crown. Do not allow dissent within the Arkanus. There are dark times ahead and the candidates of Solia and future Solidas will need all the unbiased help they can get. –

In flawless unison Sir Flameheart and Sir Lansiti put their left knee on the ground and their right fist over their heart.

- I am yours to command LunaNera, may your moonlight never be extinguished. –

Month: Harvestmoon. Day: Waterday. Time: evening.

Location: Cephiead's Academy Airport, Shura.

At the entrance of the airport, the teal haired girl was sitting on some of her luggage, reading a book while waiting for her escort. Unaware that destiny had been set in motion.

- Sha'andris Folnier? –

- Yes? –