Aeon and Eleftheria finally entered the large gate and scanned their surroundings; the whole area is filled with small gardens, in which numerous red and white roses grow along with amaranths and daffodils, that surrounds the stoned pathway towards the main square. They seemed to be designed to welcome those who would visit and it is indeed a great way to ease someone’s nerves. They sooner passed by and reached the main square, which is full of fruit and vegetable stalls along with wooden houses, taverns and inns; all varied from small to large sizes while its stone floor fitted into the ambiance. The dirty white-colored palace could be seen from the distance with the sharp tip of the establishment reaching the skies and piercing through the clouds.
They have come across the barracks with a vast field that is surrounded with wooden fences near the palace; the knights, who were in their rugged and dirty, green shirts and brown slacks are training under the scorching sun as if their lives depended on it. It is an admirable sight for those aspiring knights, disgusting for the rich and picky ones, and lovely for the women and men, who were watching their partners.
The entire building seems to be dimly glowing due to the marble-made walls and pillars in dark blue color and that is more than enough to be served as a distinguishing feature of the entire kingdom. Eleftheria’s eyes were glistening in anticipation as she stared up at the barracks with her jaw dropped; she is in awe due to the design of their training ground.
“Whoa, look at this barracks, Emp! It is large and wide! I bet they also train the cavalries and horses here!” The honey-haired commented.
“Indeed.” Aeon replied as she looked over at the group of knights, who were riding their horses and would run around the field from afar.
“Hey! You two! Are you the new knights?” Called out a slightly deep female’s voice from behind them.
Aeon and Eleftheria turned around to look at the owner of the voice, finding a woman in her full and light, dark armor, which had golden trims. Her scarlet hair, which is softly reflecting the light coming from the sun, fits her fair tone of skin, despite it in pixie-cut style. Her slightly slanted eyes with lime green irises matched her pointy nose, slightly thick eyebrows, and sharp jawline. Her lips is in their natural state of pink color that anyone would think she is wearing a lipstick. Although she is taller than Eleftheria, she is slightly shorter than Aeon.
“Yep! We are!” Eleftheria responded.
“Whoa! You are taller than I had expected! You use gauntlets or something?!” The redhead asked as she got closer to Aeon and raised a hand with her palm facing down, lightly touching the top of Aeon’s head with her fingertips.
“I am knowledgeable with weaponries but—” Aeon was halted when the redhead spoke once again.
“Whoahoh! So we got a tall and strong knight here!” The redhead sooner pulled her hand down and turned to Eleftheria,
“Oh, we got a shorty one here! And you look powerful as hell! Tell me, are you a sorceress?”
Eleftheria nodded gleefully, “Yep, I am! I mostly use defensive and debuff magic and have yet to improve offensive and enchantment ones!”
“Hmm hmm, your main specialty will greatly be of help someday!” The female finally retreated and crossed her arms across her chest,
“I’m Estin Stronghold, the general of this kingdom’s army. I got your names from the council. So uh.. let’s see..” Estin pointed at Eleftheria,
“You’re Aeon Gertrude Reigns, right?! Great name for a magician!” She said as she huffed her chest proudly.
“Uhh.. actually..” Eleftheria trailed off with a nervous chuckle before Aeon spoke,
“I’m Aeon Gertrude Reigns.” Aeon corrected.
A moment of silence for the three of them occurred.
“R-Right! As I had said!” Estin stuttered.
Did she just stutter? Aeon and Eleftheria said at the back of their minds.
“And I guess you are Eleftheria Goldenarm!” Estin chuckled nervously as she rubbed her nape while facing the said woman.
The honey-haired sorceress nodded, “Yep!” She replied enthusiastically.
I definitely need a memory check. Estin thought before clearing her throat, “Moving on, here in Moonfire Kingdom, you both will have to take a mock one on one battle and a mock Warzone. Your opponents will be based on your assessment test results.”
But, the problem is Aeon. Her results were bad because all of them were below average and the only one, which managed, was her tall height. I know that the council would accept someone if ever it passed even just one stat but… to think that they wouldn’t mind having knights like her… Then again, I shouldn’t judge. Now that I think about it, where have I heard of her name again? Estin slightly narrowed her eyes as she stared up at the maroon-haired, who blinked and raised an eyebrow.
She’s staring at me like she is underestimating me.. Aeon thought as she returned the gaze as well.
Eleftheria felt the tension in the air and decided to divert it, “A-Ahh, well, I guess I will be facing someone, who is a defensive sorceress just like me!”
“Oh, actually, that won’t work so we decided to change it. You will be facing someone who has offensive magic as its main weapon.” Estin replied.
“E-Ehhh?! Seriously!?” Eleftheria flinched back in surprise.
“Same goes to Aeon. Seeing your assessment test results, I don’t want to be unfair but it is the new rules of the council now. It’s why they accept anyone whose one stat is higher than the rest.”
“Really? We didn’t hear any of these, though. A higher-up from the council said that our mock battle tests will be based on our strengths and not our weaknesses.” Aeon said.
“I wouldn’t call it weaknesses actually, since it will allow us to know which ones to improve and which ones are worthy.”
“I see.” Aeon simply replied as her way of ending the topic. She now has to find a way on how to beat her upcoming opponent for the mock battle but she is also curious on who she has to face against.
Eleftheria furrowed her eyebrows that it formed a slight crease on her forehead, she still finds it odd about the sudden change of rules. However, the two of them have no choice but to adapt.
“If this mock battle will be based on our lower stats, then who will be my opponent?” Aeon asked.
Estin smiled before answering the question that will turn out as shocking for both Eleftheria and Aeon,
“You’ll be facing me.”
