Elysi being one of the few coastal cities still standing across the country, the capital of Elysia was no stranger to a coastal breeze. Whether it be day or night, sun or rain you'd always feel a subtle sea breeze flowing through the city's white streets. Although strangely the smell and taste of salt could never be found in the air, if Eric hadn't been in the sea first hand he'd assume the coastal waters were comprised entirely of fresh water and not salt.
The wind across Elysi flew strong and fast as it attacked Eric's coat, causing it to violently ripple in the air and trail behind him like an extra shadow.
To his left was Alex, who easily kept up with his long strides, and to his right was Kate, her legs were forced to move twice as fast to maintain their group's pace. Despite this, she managed to keep up without issue or complaint. Eric forced himself to stifle his amusement at the sight of her vigorous movements, he had no desire to unleash Kate's ire upon himself. The thought of starting the countdown to her revenge sent shivers across his skin. He'd made that mistake far too many times and after years of testing, it was safe to say the concoctions of her deranged mind were never fun to deal with. Nor did they possess any aspect of sportsmanship, Eric winced at the memories. Best to leave that role to Lewis, Eric decided, he and Kate had been warring against one another since they were kids, and Eric had brutally learnt he stood no chance against the sadistic monsters.
They strolled down the vast pathway known as King's Road. King's Road was the largest walkway on the south side of the city and it bordered both sides of the King's canal. One of Elysi's four Great Canals which together split the city with a cross and dominated the complex spiderweb of canals and waterways that formed Elysi's foundations.
Just like the rest of the city the road, well it was more accurate to call it a big street really, followed Elysi's renowned colour palette. Formed from pristine stone and marble, its floor were grey tiles and the intricately carved railings were the same pearlescent silver-white you could find on near enough every building. The road travelled to the centre of the city where it connected with Elysi's other identical Great Roads. Queen's, Prince's, and Princess's.
Despite its vast width and long length King's Road was completely straight, allowing them to quickly traverse their way down it. There also wasn't a carriage in sight this morning which was nice. Not that that would even affect their journey, all eight sections of the Great Roads were easily large enough to accommodate two large carriages side by side without issue, but Eric always enjoyed having a clear view across the city.
Soon they found themselves walking over King's bridge, marking their arrival to the inner section of the city, known simply as the Anterius. They strolled past buildings and bridges of white marble and silver stone, it was the greatest benefit of the Great Roads, they provided a direct path to the centre of the city allowing you to avoid the towering, complex maze that was Elysi. Eventually after around 30 minutes they reached the capital's centre.
The centre of the Elysi was the city's heart, its pride. Home to the Royal Palace, as well as the headquarters of both the country's Military and Crown's Intelligence, mostly referred to as CI.
The city's centre was guarded by a grand wall of gleaming white. It stood over eight metres high, its stone bricks were engraved with protection runes, that glistened like morning dew, and had two gigantic, locked gateway at the north and south ends. Atop its battlements, guards in black military uniforms patrolled, they rotated shifts to provide a constant 24/7 watch. The west and east points of the wall had been integrated with the Military and Crown Intelligence HQ's, they were a more recent addition to Elysi's heart, their age paling in comparison to most of Elysi's ancient architecture, only dating back a century instead of millennia.
The buildings were gigantic, there was no other way to put it. They were so large they extended out from both sides of the wall and as a result they even offered passage in and out of the centre, replacing the old gateways that once stood there.
As their travelling party came to the end of King's Road it converted into a huge bridge, King's Bridge, that spanned the road's entire width and leapt across a ten meter wide ring of water. Across the bridge was a smaller pavement, about half the Great Road's width, that surrounded the walls to Elysi's heart.
"I'll see you later," Kate said as soon as they crossed the bridge.
With a quick, final wave, she then turned left and passed a pair of patrolling guards as she headed towards the Crown's Intelligence headquarters. After watching her body safely vanish around the bend of the wall, Eric and Alex turned right, towards the Military Headquarters.
The building made up almost the entire east side of the wall and the entrance peaked out onto the street, halving the space to walk. Like the Crown's Intelligence HQ, the building travelled deep into the city's heart and was six stories tall, towering above nearly every building across the city. It was cube like in shape and, although you couldn't see it from outside, large one-way windows covered its walls. Its exterior was formed from six layer that began to slightly shrink inwards after the third level. While built from the same pearlescent white and grey, its more simple and modern design exposed its true age compared to the rest of the Elysi.
The HQ's entrance, large enough to accommodate a group of ten, reached out from the first floor and was made from almost completely glass, the clear doors slid open automatically as they approached. Passing the two guards stationed outside, they entered into the main lobby. Unsurprisingly, it was crowded and packed like always.
The room was plainly decorated and vast, spanning across a third of the first floor, and it was also extremely high, stretching the entire height of the HQ. Most of the ceiling from formed from a huge skylight and if you glanced up you could see the bottom of numerous walkways that outlined each story and provided access to dozens of different rooms and offices. The lobby's floor was a mix of crimson rugs and a magnificent dark wood and its towering walls were a dark grey stone, many shades deeper than the rest of the city. Dozens of couches and rows of chairs were placed along the walls, most of the occupied with citizens and officers waiting to be seen, and at the far end of the room where three grand and sturdy reception desks built from the same wood as the floor. Two desks where stationed to each side of the lobby and the larger, main reception was positioned at the back, directly opposite the entrance. It had six people working behind it instead of the usual three you could find behind the other two desks. To either side of the main reception, a set of the stone brick stairs, lined with red carpet, spiralled up towards the wall and eventually intertwined into a larger staircase which lead to the third floor. You couldn't see it from here but, once you reached the top, there were two smaller spiral staircases at each end of a hallway that travelled up the entire building.
Alex strode down the centre of the room which was always left clear, and Eric quickly followed behind him. They approached the left side of the reception and waited in front of a young women, who possessed a roundish face decorated by long, curly, red hair and hazel eyes, hidden beneath glasses. After scribbling her signature rapidly across another document and throwing it on top of an already tall stack, she glanced up. Her mouth quickly curved into a smile.
"General Jager's office," she informed them, gesturing to the upper floors as if they were strangers to the HQ and hadn't been here hundreds of times.
"Thanks Kathlyn," Alex said. His friendly nature taking over Alex repaid her smile but she'd gone back to work before she could notice. Just like her older sister.
They turned right once they reached the third floor and then continued up until the fifth floor, entering a large square room that looked like a smaller version of the main lobby. Windows were spaced between the far walls, revealing the white city, and desks were lined along the centre of the room where many people sat working, some on mana powered technological devices and most lost in thick piles of documents, books and legislations.
Eric and Alex made their way to the back of the room where a powerful set of double doors sat. Resting above it was a golden plaque, 'General M Jager.'
Beside the door was a woman with straight black hair and sharp, brown eyes. She sat behind a desk facing out towards them, that was noticeably much larger and grand compared to the others in the room. She continued working on her documents even as they approached only speaking up when they went to open the office doors, her eyes still never leaving her work.
"They're in that room Alex," she stated, gesturing blindly with pinpoint accuracy over to the door on her left.
"Oh. We're in the big room," Alex muttered. "Get ready for a long one."
Eric felt his chest plummet, there was no chance of the short and sweet meeting he'd been praying for now then. If their meeting was being held in the actual conference room, it meant General Jager had called in everybody. Eric let out a grumble of his own before following Alex into the meeting room. At least he was still going out later with Lewis and Kate, he though. Could moan all about it then.
Inside, was a long, sturdy, wooden table that was capable of seating twenty however, only currently sat six people. Alex and Eric quickly took the seats closest to the door, both of them still holding out for the hope of an early escape.
At the far end of the table sat a mountain of a man who radiated authority just by existing, General Mark Jager. Standing, just slightly shorter than Eric, at six foot five the General's vast build was visible even through his layered uniform, the clothing strained as it struggled to contain his barrelled chest and thick muscular limbs. Like always his black hair was kept short, his thick beard groomed and it felt like his blue eyes somehow managed to actually pierce the air.
To General's side sat his daughters, Major Serena Jager and Emily Jager. Similarly to their father they had piercing blue eyes and black hair, albeit theirs was a lot longer, falling past their shoulders, however, the rest of the appearance had been inherited from their mother without a doubt. Serena, the older sister, sat closest to the General and presented herself in an identical manner but like always appeared as a carbon copy of her mother, sharing her cunning elegance although it was now mixed with the aspects of the military. Emily on the other hand was a different story entirely. Out of all the Jager siblings their older brother took after General Jager without a doubt, Serena whether she liked it or not was their mother and youngest sister wasn't old enough to tell … but Emily. To Eric she appeared to be neither of her parents but according to Alex and the others she is the mirror image of General Jager when he was her age and starting out his career. Both of them possessing an unrivalled militaristic mind, iron will and unbreakable devotion and loyalty to their nation however, they can also be rash and overwhelmed with their unchained ambition to see their goals come to fruition. Eric was far too young to have ever known the General at the beginning of his career but after experiencing Em's strength first hand, he could definitely see some truth in their words. Inside her he could see the potential for her to become a warrior capable of shaking the very foundations of the world.
Across from Eric sat the other two Generals currently stationed in Elysi. General Andrew Gravitas, a man with a strong build, although outshined by his superior General, black hair and brown eyes and General Kurt Zeit, who actually belonged to the Crown's Intelligence instead of the military. He was a kempt, tall man, standing barley shorter of General Jager, with an athletic build, bright blonde hair combed over neatly and green eyes, which occasional hummed with magical power.
Despite the grand display of authority and power in the room, that'd leave most people in the country, no, the world breathless, they weren't who dominated Eric's attention. He had expected them all to be here however, the person to his and Alex's right took him by complete surprise.
She had her usual long, wavy, black hair, bright amber eyes, and muscular build, but her usually porcelain skin was completely tanned. They hadn't seen her in months and he didn't think she was returning until next week but here she was beside them. Korra turned to face them, flashing a smile.
"Did Eri like her gift?" she asked.
"Eri loved it, Becka … not so much," Alex said, causing her to stifle a laugh, but she failed to stop a smirk breaking through. "Have fun now. I was able to pass my portion of blame onto Lewis, you've got no scapegoat."
Korra frowned. "I'll also just use Lewis. It was his idea."
"We can't both use Lewis," Alex countered.
"Why not? Like I said it was his idea. I just followed his instructions." Kora shrugged.
Alex went to retort but froze with his mouth agape. Eric stifled a smile as he watched Alex become speechless and fail to think of a reason.
"You're not wrong," he eventually said.
Eric watched silently, noticing the mischievous cogs in both their heads begin turning. 'Unlucky Lewis.' He winced.
With Eric's and Alex's arrival, the meeting began. General Jager spoke, his deep, gruff voice escaping his mouth.
"As we all know, the Atlas Games is in two weeks' time, so I wanted to have a few meetings like this over the next fourteen days to confirm everyone's roles and progress," he informed, while grabbing some papers from the table. "The only Generals who'll be attending the event are myself and General Zeit. General Gravitas will remain here in Elysi and General Alexander will remain where he is at the training centre." General Jager turned to General Zeit. "Kurt, please have a list of which Crown's intelligence officers you are bringing delivered to my office by tomorrow morning," he told the General. "As for the military we will be bringing Major Jager and Captain Uryx as well as 10 officers."
'Captain Uryx?' Eric didn't recognise the name. Was he a recent transfer from across the nation? Maybe even an internation transfer?
"Quite a lot of officers for something like the Atlas Games. The hosts already provide security and every country will bring a small party of their own," Korra stated. "Are you expecting something to go wrong?"
"We've been asked to help in the protection of the royal family, so I'm giving them 5 officers on top of what they already have," The General explained.
He then continued to assign people their roles during the event for the next fifteen minutes mostly speaking to General Zeit, and for the most part Eric spaced out, keeping one ear open for anything that may involve him or the other contenders. Over the next half hour Eric thought he caught whiff of a talk to inform General Gravitas on his position and role in Elysi while they were all absent and something to do with progress in the military academy.
Finally he addressed Eric and Emily.
"You two and the others will be leaving for Thalassi, three days earlier than the rest of us with General Zeit, Korra and Serena who'll help you train in the facilities they provide. Until then continue preparing for the event," General Jager informed. He then went on to explain what events everyone is participating in and that they'll obtain the schedule for the Atlas Games closer to the event's date. Of course Eric ended up being their country's fighter for the solo tournament and it was decided Emily would lead their country's team in the group tournament.
Then the topic switched to the newly introduced special event. Eric quickly tuned back into the meeting, his curiosity piqued. It was the first time ever a ranked event had been added to the Atlas Games, and he theorised that the change had finally happened due to its grand anniversary and the games taking place in the same nation they were once birthed.
"Thalassi are keeping a tight hold on the information their feeding us about the games this year. We pretty much know nothing on what the event will be apart from it of course involves combat and the royals. For Elysia our contender will be Princess Sera," he said while reading a document.
"They're bringing the royal heirs back as contenders?" Korra asked, slightly taken aback.
Her reaction surprised no one. With the exception of the one on one duels during the opening ceremony, the Atlas Games hadn't allowed the royal heirs or main lineage of countries to take part in centuries. Not since one year resulted in a number of deaths that left many countries without their future monarch. The real question was, what had changed? It was true that the atmosphere and rules of the event had become much stricter and safer over the centuries, reducing the mortality rate of the games significantly, but it still wasn't too unusual for fighters to die or at least be severely injured.
General Jager nodded. "We also know the princess has been asked to pick a partner, this person can be anyone the princess wants with certain exceptions, that she's been made aware of. But strangely this person does not have to be under their nation's military or an associated branch like the rest of the Atlas Games events. According to the letter, they can quite literally be anyone as long as they fall under the other conditions which is mostly just concerned with their age," he informed.
"Any idea on how the princess will decide her partner? Or will she just pick her brother?" General Zeit asked.
"Her brother doesn't fall under the required conditions to participate, he's too old. I imagine it's the only reason he hasn't volunteered to take her place. But it doesn't matter anyway, the princess has informed me she's already decided on her partner. She's just waiting for the opportunity to ask them," General Jager said.
"Who has she picked?" General Gravitas spoke up, an intrigued fire flaring in his eyes for the first time in the entire meeting.
Eric glanced around, it wasn't just General Gravitas, everyone at the table was leaned forward and engaged, each and every one of their curiosities spiked.
"She's not telling anyone, apparently she's wanting to keep it a surprise," the General stated. He sounded amused by the princess's decision.
Confused faces formed around the room as Eric assumed they were trying to figure out who she would pick, but Eric was pretty certain he already knew and by the looks of Alex and Korra's expressions they did too.
"Well that concludes all talks on the Atlas Games for now. Emily, Eric you are dismissed," General Jager stated breaking the silence.
Relief spread through Eric as he got up and began leaving the room, He flashed Alex a smirk before turning away.
"Lucky bastard," he heard Alex mumble, as he left the meeting room behind him.
He headed towards the stairs but caught wind of Emily's quickened footsteps behind him. He slowed down his pace.
"Any idea on who the princess is going to pick?" she asked, as soon as she caught up.
"Yeah," he replied, he saw no point in lying, she was scarily good at sniffing them out. Must've got it from her mother, Eric assumed, the General never knew when he was lying. "But before you ask I'm not telling you anything. Wouldn't want to ruin the princess's surprise now would I."
"What if I told you I hate surprises?" she asked.
"Learn to like them." Eric shrugged. "Either that or figure it out yourself."
Emily muttered under her breath annoyed but quickly put the topic behind them.
"Are you coming to training?" she asked, her eyes now looking forward in order to ignore his grin.
"Already, I thought we weren't scheduled in until the afternoon?"
"I was able to get us the room for the entire day," Emily informed.
Eric scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah. I'll be there soon I've just got an errand to run first," he said.
Emily shot him a confused glance however, quickly shrugged it off and rushed off ahead. They both knew she had more pressing matters to deal with than pry into his personal life.
"See you there," she said with a wave.
He watched her leave before slowly following in her direction. By the time he exited the building she was nowhere to be seen. Eric wasted no time and headed off, it wasn't in her nature to spy or follow him. If he was Lewis or Kate it may be a different story, those two seemed pique Emily's curiosity like no other living being. But with Eric, he didn't suffer such complications, she probably just headed straight to the training facility. Eventually he would head there as well, but first he had a man to find.
An hour after Eric and Emily left, the meeting finally concluded. Alex exhaled in relief, he'd finally escaped the Military, financial and political talks. He'd tried to space out for most of it, but unfortunately a lot of it had solidified itself into his mind. Wasn't half those things what the government was for, he complained in thought. He swore every passing year the military was slowly becoming more involved in the how the nation operated, tracking back to when the war ended. It was starting to become a pain in the ass.
Instantly everyone got up and began leaving the room, he had no doubt to go tick off whatever was next of their day's endless to do list. That was the issue associated with standing at the top a nation there was very sparse time to stop and take a breath, socialise … anything but work really. It was either do it on the move or not at all. Thankfully that wasn't a problem he possessed.
He watched General Jager go into his office with Serena. Across the room, was Kurt and Andrew heading towards the stairs. Alex went to follow them but felt something gently grasp his arm. He turned to see Korra stood behind him.
"Can we talk for a bit," she asked. Despite the soft tone in her voice he could tell it wasn't a request. And he didn't need to read her mind to know something was bothering her. Korra's expression gave that away for free.
He gave her a nod and they quickly headed up the spiral staircase, emerging onto the white roof top terrace of the Military HQ.
They walked over the skylight, revealing the lobby below, to the edge of the roof and stared out into the city. It was a skyline of white buildings of all shapes and sizes with canals and grey pathways in between. Off to the left in the east section of the city, the Grand Cathedral towered over everything, claiming its title of largest building in the country. It was an immense and overwhelming structure of towers, and spires. Even though it was forged mostly from white stone it glistened like a gem constantly, through both day and night. All its windows were forged from stained glass depicting the long-lost history of the world, now believed to just be fabricated myth and legend, but Alex wasn't too sure. His knowledge on the matter was rusty at best, but he bet Lewis knew it. It felt like that kid knew near enough everything when it came to the history and mythology of their world, the way he sometimes spoke you'd think he'd actually lived through it.
Despite its ridiculous size and what it represented in Elysia, the cathedral hadn't been in use in centuries. Or was it closer to a millennia? Doesn't matter. The decision wasn't by choice, the damn thing as locked itself shut centuries ago and not a single person had been able to open its doors since. Now it had simply became a landmark of the world. Upon its creation all those years ago it had been enchanted by the ancient mages, using the Magic of Old, making it near damn indestructible, during the entire history of the country it was the only building to never have fallen. Alex wasn't sure if even he would be able to crack it open.
He drew his gaze away from the monument, there was only one other creation in the nation that could rival the cathedral. Alex glanced back behind them, where in the far distance you could since the shining sea slam against the city's border. The Royal Palace sat at the centre of Elysi, it true heart. Along with the cathedral it was oldest building in the country.
The palace sat in the middle of an aquamarine lake, surrounded by the lush, vibrant royal garden. Like the rest of city it was a complexion of pristine white and silver that sparkled like a diamond, with roof tiles that glistened like platinum and white walls that shone like the moon. The palace's windows were also stained, but painted a different story to the cathedral, instead displaying the legends of Elysia's royal bloodline.
"So, what have you been up to in Eneasia these past three months," Alex asked with a smile as he leaned back on the glass railing that outlined the entire rooftop terrace.
"We can catch up later," Korra stated bluntly, drawing his eyes to her. "We have more dire things to discuss." Her eyes were dark and grave. It had been a damn long time since Alex had seen her pull an expression like that.
Instantly his smile vanished, and his demeanour matched hers.
"Go on."