The Caspius Manor

Standing beyond the opened gate was a man who had red natural short straight hair. His height was close to Donos who stood around a hundred and eighty-five centimeters. He has broad shoulders bulging out of his black shirt that was paired with brown trousers. People would mistake his eyes as real ambers by the way they glow even in the dark, and he looked pale when compared to Donos's tanned skin. Yet, contrary to his strong appearance, the man has a big smile and an aura that would make anyone, even a cornered animal, feel relief.

The man's scabbard was made of bronze and similar to Aeneas and Donos, the pommel in the hilt of his sword was carved into a lion. 

Aeneas, Donos, and Eluard went down their steeds as soon as they entered their territory.

"Lord Caspius," said Donos, who also did the Panteran bow. Eluard followed him and did the same. On the other hand, Aeneas copied them without thought, but didn't say anything.

Arsen Caspius was the man standing in front of them. He waited for them at the gate to give a warm welcome. But before that, he returned the gesture and bowed to them. Then, Arsen stretched his arms wide while staring at young Aeneas.

Aeneas clicked his tongue, and he saw some of the knights walking behind his brother carrying wood and other things, "Am I not too old for that, brother?"

"What?" Arsen sighed, "I was gone for a month and you wouldn't give me a hug?" 

Scratching his head, "You weren't gone for long," Aeneas replied.

Arsen pouted, "Oh come on, even when you turn thirty, you're still my baby brother," he said, mimicking a childish tone.

Eluard chuckled which caught the lord's attention.

"You too Elu, stop laughing and come here," Arsen said in a stern voice. His arms still stretched wide.

With a smile, Donos took their steeds. One of the knights under Arsen saw Donos and assisted him in guiding the harions to the stables.

Seeing that there was no escape, Eluard and Aeneas stared at each other and then smiled weirdly. They walked towards Arsen, and the moment they were close enough, he hugged them tight. Both of them felt like they were being constricted by a serpent who by instinct, makes a gradual increase in its strength.

"Brother, it's getting hard to breathe," Aeneas said, making a pause in between words. Meanwhile, Eluard didn't say anything, rather, he was making weird sounds as he tried to control his breathing.

After a while, Arsen released them. He laughed and placed his hands on their shoulders. Aeneas and Eluard glanced at each other and also started laughing.

All men could own land by purchasing it from the kingdom's chancery of land in the kingdom of Pantera. There could be limits to the size of the land a single family could own depending on the area. People living in cities or towns that are crowded could only buy common-sized houses, that is if they could afford one. Even though there are no taxes when the land is bought, natural resources found in the territory are considered as property of every Panteran but are managed by its leaders. Unless it was crops grown by a farmer or within a main residence.

There is also no fixed concept of nobility in Pantera. People addressed those in power as lords. Be it through being a strong knight, a famous figure, or a wealthy person. Most Panterans believed that the strong could make wealth, and the wealthy could buy strength.

The Caspius's territory consists of four buildings. The biggest is the manor located at the center of their gated residence. Made with bricks of red and gold, with human-sized windows made of green glass. It was a sight to behold. To its left is a building, though a bit smaller and less grandeur, it was still better-looking than most houses in the village. It used to be the residence of hired knights serving Adrian Caspius, now, it is home to the knights under Arsen who had recently gained the rank of captain. They call this building the barracks.

To the right of the manor, is a smaller building. It serves as the stables which has plenty of room for dozens of steeds to rest. Next to it is another building. The smallest among the four. Resting inside are the family's carrier birds and companions. Aero, who delivered Eluard's letter telling the people in the residence of their departure, was already sleeping after a feast.

Around the Caspius territory were various magical plants, each with a purpose of their own. Some were bell-like carnivorous plants that release a smell that attracts small insects, a natural insecticide. There were also a lot of what people call rain plants. These plants filter the rain with their layers of leaves and then store them at the base with the leaves forming the shape of a container. Man and beasts alike use these plants as their source of water for consumption in the wild, while many households keep them for their daily uses including bathing.

A teenage girl came outside the main residence. She wore a brown kirtle which was made of better fabric than the common ones similar to Eluard. The girl has long blonde hair, light blue eyes and pale skin.

"Lord Arsen, we have finished setting up the table," the teenage girl said. When she saw Aeneas and Eluard beside Arsen, her smile grew as she waved towards them.

Arsen smiled at the girl, "We're coming," then he turned to Eluard and Aeneas, "You heard Issa. Call the others," he said.

Issa approached them, "Father?" she asked.

"Uncle Donos went to the stables," Arsen replied. He asked Eluard to go with Issa and call Donos and the other knights around the stables. While Aeneas calls for the knights inside the barracks.

Before going, Aeneas remembered the bags of Pastries that they had. It was attached to Eluard's steed so he asked the two of them who were going to the stables to bring it inside the manor.

It didn't take long for everyone to gather inside the main building. A long table with many varieties of food was the main attraction of the dining area. The table has a lot of chairs. There were only three servants in the manor. It includes Issa, her mother and Donos's wife, Crisa who shares her features, and another young woman in her early twenties named Yri.

Although they are known by strangers as servants and are also paid to help in the house, the Caspius treats them as family. Arsen and his siblings think of Issa and Yri as other siblings of theirs like Eluard.

Everyone dines together in the Caspius manor. On one end of the long table sits Arsen, the lord of the house. Beside him to his left were Aeneas, Eluard, Issa, Yri and the other knights. To his right sits Donos, Crisa, and most of the remaining knights. With Kyra and two other knights gone as they visited their families, only eleven knights remained in the manor. Some of them helped in cooking and bringing the food to the table, while the others helped on the stables or stood guard.

As it is a Panteran tradition for the lord or the head of the house to take the first bite of every meal, everyone waited for Arsen to do so. But, he realized that one of his men was missing, "Where's Tereus?" he asked.

"He said that he would stand guard since we are all inside," a woman two seats away from Crisa said. Her short hair was closer to orange than red, and her eyes were deep blue. She is Rhene Zenea the only other female knight under Arsen aside from Kyra Rodotis.

"What? There's no need for that. He should feast with us," Arsen replied.

Rhene shook her head, "You know how stubborn he is, captain," she said.

"Rhene's right, no amount of talking would stop Tereus from doing what he felt was needed," one of the knights said from the other side of the table. His name is Haemon Vallas. He has blond hair paired with deep blue eyes.

Arsen didn't argue further and took the bite. As soon as he did, most of his knights feasted on the food as if there was no tomorrow. While Aeneas and the others tried to savor every single bite.

"I've heard you fought bravely," Arsen said while looking at Aeneas who was enjoying the food. 

Aeneas stopped eating, he took a sip on the glass of water beside his plate, "I lost," he said before he continued eating, but this time with less gusto.

"You almost bested your opponent. Even if you lost, I wished I could've seen your match," Arsen said.

This made Aeneas smile. Not a lot has been said after that short conversation. When Aeneas was done feasting, he turned to Eluard who was still getting some piece of meat.

"Where's the cake and pastries?" Aeneas asked.

"Aunt Crisa stored it in the cold room," Eluard replied.

After hearing where the desserts were, Aeneas stood.

"Are you done, young lord?" Crisa asked.

The boy said that he would take the cake and pastries for everyone to share as desserts.

Crisa stopped eating, she stood and said, "Let me go and take it."

"No Aunt Crisa, you should finish your food first, I'll do it," Aeneas replied.

Rhene, who just finished eating, offered to help, as well as some of the knights. Aeneas smiled and agreed. Before they went, Crisa told Aeneas that there was also a jar of honey from a hornedbee brought by his older brother. The boy's face lightens up since it was his favorite.

The cold room is a small storage room that has ice stones placed on the walls. The coldness from these stones lasts a long time before running out.

While they were enjoying the desserts Aeneas and the knights brought to the table, Arsen spoke,

"We should visit Chiliarch Chronis on the morrow," he said.