Chapter Sixteen

Finn stands atop a small hill, watching as bursts of fire, ice, air, and earth, as well as flashes of light and darkness, decorate the darkened landscape of Zador's surface world. He spots Levo prancing about, seemingly raising his hands up and bringing them down to his sides at random internals, while Li-Li, Levo's cat-like companion, jumps atop jutting spikes of earth.

With each downward movement of his hands, one of those spikes of earth reverts back to its position as a flat area of the ground. Finn smiles at Levo's energy and moves his right hand down to a black belt that holds his uniform together, taking a small black communication device off, and raising it to his mouth, holding down a button on the side of the device before speaking.

"Levo, I have a favor to ask of you."

Levo stops moving from down below and looks up at where Finn is, his own communication device visible in his left hand.

"What's up, Captain?"

"Will you fetch me Evan?"

Levo gives out an audible groan, protesting against his superior's wish.

"Can I send you Yuri instead?"

"If I wanted Yuri, I would have asked for her. Okay, listen. I'll make you a deal. If you can bring Evan to me in under two minutes, I'll let the Eaidae provide you with a challenge, alright? Is-"

Finn flinches and turns off his communication device before he can even finish his sentence as a scream splits the air from Levo himself.

"Eeeevaaaan! Finn wants to seeee yoooou!"

In less than a minute, much to Finn's surprise, the requested young man, in his purple cloak and black gloves, stands in front of Finn. The captain sighs, smiles, and turns on his communication device before fulfilling his side of the deal.

"Kai, please command your unit to give Levo a challenge."

Finn directs his attention to the horizon, and Evan does the same, his hands behind his back.

In the distance, a group of green-cloaked, dark brown-gloved people form a large circle. They all put their hands towards the middle of the large circle and begin to raise them up toward the sky. Spikes, spirals, and large blocks of the earth rise from the ground, reaching up to the sky at a rather impressive pace.

Levo stops jumping up and down from several feet away and turns his attention to the rising earth. He thrusts both his hands up into the air and slowly begins to bring them down, but it is as if another force is blocking him from bringing his hands down.

It was a friendly competition between Esmon. To help two races improve their abilities, two different elemental Esmon would use counteracting forces. The Eaidae were rising the earth, while Levo, a Grinleon, was amplifying the downward force of gravity to return the earth to its original place.

Eventually, some Eaidae return their hands to their sides, and once all of those in the green robes and dark brown gloves move away from the lowering earth, Levo finishes the competition by raising his hands one last time and snapping them to his sides. Where the spikes and spirals once were just lies a flat area of the earth.

Celebrating his victory by starting to jump up and down again, Levo's smile is bright and his energy is as high as ever. Li-Li cuddles with any Eaidae who put their hands out in his general direction.

Evan turns back around to face Finn, who returns his gaze to the man.

"Sorry for the interruption, but it was the only way for Levo to do what I asked of him. How are you fairing tonight?" Finn apologizes, and Evan dismisses any trouble caused with a wave of his hand.

"You don't need to apologize; I know Levo is no fan of mine like many are. But I am doing well. Why did you call for me?"

Finn purses his lips and turns his head to stare at the tips of trees that mark both the border that Aegia has with Zador and the end of the Cineian Forest where the five bloodlines of Keiju reside, for the most part.

"I have been told that Ludwig will be coming this way with Crown Prince Veles."

"Crown Prince Veles of Luimesha? He's been rescued by Ludwig?" Evan's tone holds both surprise and disbelief, which Finn expects.

"Apparently."

"You don't sound the least bit shocked. Aren't you happy that you'll be able to see him again?"

"That's just the thing. I'll be seeing him again. It still doesn't sit right with me that he's a spy now. I think he did it for her, and it's dangerous to base your decisions, life-altering or not, on someone else, no matter how much you care about them," Finn takes his eyes off of the forest and looks down at Levo and Li-Li, who are now busy rolling on the ground, playing with one another.

Evan meets Finn's eyes and nods after several seconds of silence.

"I know how you feel about him. But you were not there, and do not understand their bond. I have heard that she regrets him becoming a spy, so I do not know if that benefits you in any way. But enough about him alone. What is he doing with the Crown Prince?"

Finn gives a small smile to Evan for changing the topic before explaining what Mykel was able to tell him and Levo a few days ago.

"Ludwig is planning to return the Crown Prince to Luimesha. He was originally going to travel through the Cineian Forest until they reached the Carovell Sea, but the king and queen of Aegia have caught onto that plan, and are sending scouts- and soon enough, bounty hunters- to the forest to both kill Ludwig and catch the Crown Prince.

"So, Mykel directed Ludwig to instead travel to Zador, and Levo and I are to provide him with protection as the two travel to the Carovell Sea that way. But, I am certain the scouts, spearmen, and bounty hunters from not just Aegia, but the Etaithen Empire will also follow the two to try and kill both Ludwig and the Crown Prince at that point.

"I want to speak with all the leaders of each Esmon unit, and ask for their assistance should unwelcome visitors come to Zador in search of Ludwig or the Crown Prince. I have heard rumors that another person from Aegia, a spearman, will be traveling with them, and though Mykel said to be cautious around him, he does not believe he is an immediate threat to any of our lives, nor theirs.

"On that note, do you think you can convince the Drokander under your command to assist Ludwig in his mission? I promise to repay you once the three reach the Carovell Sea."

Finn watches as Evan processes what he has just heard, then hesitantly nods.

"I will try my best. I would also like to say, do you think you can convince every leader? You know Olivia and Thomas are both-"

"I am fully aware of Olivia's loyalty to Aegia, along with the Fodel she commands. And though Thomas' command of the Wrine makes even me at times scared, he will not be happy to hear of the Etaithen Empire's role in this mission. But, I am confident that Yuri will try her utmost best to command her Lililid to go above and beyond for the Crown Prince.

"I have no idea how Kai or Elena will feel about this, though. It would be nice to have Kai's help, especially after the challenge they presented Levo with, and at that point, I would feel bad leaving Elena out. She tries so hard, and I can see the determination in her eyes that only grows with each praise she receives from Mykel at each monthly meeting. Lately, I've been seeing some new methods being used by the Asine to produce some powerful feats with their element..."

Finn's voice trails off as he contemplates how he will phrase his request for help toward each of the Esmon commanders.

"I wish you the best of luck in your requests, Finn. No matter which commander you have supporting you at your side when Ludwig comes across the border, you and Levo alone are more than he ever needs. Now, if you excuse me, I need to tell the news to my unit. They'll be overjoyed to know Ludwig will be passing through."

Evan, with a bow, descends down that hill and vanishes among the multicolored robes and gloves of the various Esmon that fill the wide valley of Zador. Finn closes his eyes and whispers to himself.

"Oh, Ludwig... I hope you know what you're doing."