Feniora

"Take this along with you." Eldora placed food and money in separate pouches and presented them to Hermes. The king, who was actually Mikael, and Hermes, his royal guard, got ready to leave for the castle quite early in the morning. "Count it as a gift." Both Hermes and the king bowed respectfully.

They moved through the streets; it was a lovely experience, with days that were constantly bright and busy. And at night, fire torches illuminate the streets. Given that the elderly couple lived far from the city, the money they had made helped them on their journey, which would take three days to reach the castle. They questioned why, given that the kingdom is relatively small, it would take three days to travel to the castle alone. But they soon found out the answer. After asking around, they discovered a quicker route through the river to get to the castle.

The kingdom appeared to be in the shape of a dumbbell, with two territories connected by a bridge but divided by a river. With all of those small white blossoms, a wooden bridge adorned with toxic ivy looked lovely. They had to cross a deep forest to get to the bridge. The fauna had encompassed the forest in its splendor, despite the fact that it wasn't a vast forest. And to get across that thick forest, it took a day and a half. They were now standing in front of the bridge, staring across a vast expanse of land that stretched along their line of sight. It appeared as though the three diverse worlds were contained within a single realm. The castle, a town, and a forest.

"It appears unsafe." Hermes shouted as he turned to face the gushing water below. The river appeared to be flowing violently, and the rocks that were nearby and those that were emerging through them added to the terrifying appearance.

"In fact, it is." The king sighed and turned to stare at the wooden bridge, which he couldn't bring himself to trust. "I guess we're off to a good start." The monarch then mounted his horse, followed by Hermes, and stepped onto the bridge. He wouldn't lower his gaze. However, their horses grew frightened and balked at moving forward. Hermes and Alaric made every effort to soothe their horses, but to no avail. "I can't leave them in this place." The monarch grumbled.

"You two, who are you?" A voice from the side called out, and a man clad in crimson and black appeared. His attire had a daisy monogram embroidered close to the shoulder and appeared to be uniform-like. He approached them with slow, steady strides, his hands on the scabbard straining at his waist.

"We...are travelers. We don't mean any harm. The king spoke, moving ahead to discuss this without causing difficulties.

"What brought you here? The town is to the opposite side."

"We wish to speak with the king." Being straightforward did not feel like a smart idea, but once the words were spoken, they could not be taken back, he thought. The man grimaced, tightening his grip on the scabbard. "We need to work so that we can feed our family."

"Where do you come from?" The man pulled his sword out and pointed it in Alaric's direction since he didn't want to believe anything. Hermes attempted to move, but Alaric grabbed his hand and managed to stop him. After a little interval, the man resumed speaking. "I said, where are both of you from?"

"Antares... we're from Antares." Hermes spoke up. They believed it would not be safer to inform him of the Josen kingdom. Antares was a much smaller town where only traders and nomads resided. Antares had no ruler; the city ran totally on its own. Only a few hundred people, half of whom are tribal groups that can defend the land when necessary. Therefore, no kingdom ever attempted to conquer that small territory.

The man pulled his sword back and put it back in the scabbard. The sound of a few footsteps caused him to turn around after giving them a dubious look. The bridge was being approached by two men. They were both dressed in the same outfit, which was black and red. As soon as they noticed two strange presences, they stopped.

"Atlas, who are they?" One of the men questioned the individual who had earlier raised his sword to the king. Before exhaling the air, he had been holding, the stated individual turned his head.

"Travelers from Antares." Alaric and Hermes remained motionless at their positions, staring at them carefully. If luck was on their side, they might walk to the king, but no one would know if they died in this dark forest. And they desired the former. ""What do you recommend?"

The uniformed men glanced at them for a moment and then spoke. I take them. The king then breathed a sigh of relief. One by one, the horses were brought over to the other side. Although they were restless, the horses were cooperative. As soon as the horses crossed across, Atlas escorted the king and Hermes to the bridge with the assistance of a second uniformed man he called Vixen. With Atlas in the back and Vixen in front, the king and Hermes were marching in the middle.

"Be careful; those leaves are poisonous; don't touch them." Vixen said.

The king nodded and continued to follow him across the bridge with Hermes. Except for the creepy sound coming from the wild, all that can be heard is the forceful sound of water hitting the rocks.

"Nature was never tampered with; we only learned to live with it." Atlas said when he noticed how cautiously, but irritatedly, the travelers were moving, hissing anytime they approached any vines.

"And that, my friend, is the beauty of the Fenoira kingdom." Vixen added on with a grin. His smirk was deceitful, much like the fox that lived true to his name. With his smile, he seemed to be concealing his darkest, most sinister secrets. It didn't take long to cross the river because the bridge wasn't very long. The opposite side appeared to be straight out of a fantasy story where the sun beams brilliantly after a storm. The king and Hermes' jaws fell as soon as they crossed over. The landscape was lovely. There was lush, cushiony green grass covering the entire landscape, and a castle could be seen distantly perched atop a valley.

There were only two horses and five of them, as another uniformed man was waiting for them with the horses. They made the decision to stroll along the path and properly appreciate the kingdom's magnificence. The castle was not far away, and they arrived there quite fast. There was no market center, only fertile land.

Vixen inquired, "What are each of your names?"

"Huh..." Vixen asked him once more as Hermes turned to face him. "His name is Mikael, and mine is Hermes." The vixen nodded.

They arrived to the enormous castle door that the guards had unlocked when they saw Vixen after conversing about many topics. One of the guards asked, "Who are they?

"Guests."

Atlas sent the horses to the shed where other animals were kept before leading the visitors inside the chamber. To seem presentable before meeting the king in the courts, they were instructed to freshen up and change into some new clothes.

The guards that escorted them to the castle were positioned next to the king of Fenoira. And a few royal guards, gripping their spears fiercely, led Alaric and Hermes to the courtroom. One security stood behind each Alaric and Hermes in case they engaged in any strange behavior after being instructed to stand in the center. The king was a middle-aged man, not angry, but with inquiring eyes. Vixen introduced them as Antares travelers.

"Travelers from Antares, what are your businesses here?" Fenoira's king enquired.