Express

It didn't take long for both Aeneas and Tiriara to lose against Arsen. The moment they charged and attacked him, he parried their swords without moving an inch. Arsen didn't use his Zeal, yet, he overpowered them and sent their wooden swords flying away from their hands. And with that, Donos announced the end of the spar.

Tiriara whined, "Ah, I couldn't use my fire magic," she said while scratching her head.

On the other hand, Aeneas remained silent as he stared at the ground. He had realized the reality of how vast the difference in skills and talent his brother had against him. As if he stood beneath a mountain seeing his brother standing atop and thinking that maybe one day he'd reach him, to realize that the mountain continued higher than his eyes could see and that what he saw was only Arsen's silhouette.

Arsen noticed his younger brother's dull expression. He thought to himself that he shouldn't have made the two seem powerless against him. Unable to pick the right encouraging words, he stood there trying.

Then, Tiriara noticed Aeneas. She approached him and slapped his back with her palm, "Are you crying, Aenie?" she said with a smirk.

Aeneas glared at her, but, he let out a short chuckle the moment he saw her bright smile. The boy changed his expression. Not wanting to let Tiriara get away with slapping him, Aeneas pinched her cheeks again.

"Let's see who's going to cry," he said.

Tiriara groaned in pain, "I told you that it hurts, stop pinching me!"

"It's revenge for the slap."

The girl apologized. She said that he looked like he was crying and she just wanted to comfort him. Her attempt turned into a fiasco which made everyone chuckle or smile. Meanwhile, Arsen let out a sigh of relief as if he had managed to remove a huge boulder stuck in his throat.

After that, Arsen resumed sparring with the remaining knights. Most lasted long, exchanging blows and magic. But, Arsen won in the end as everyone had predicted.

In the next few days, Aeneas and Tiriara continued joining Arsen and his knights in their daily training. Arsen's initial thought was that Aeneas would return to training alone at his spot because of how their spar went. And he wasn't wrong. The boy pondered about it, but the enthusiastic Tiriara told him that they should at least defeat one of the knights or be better than them in physical training. Aeneas felt that not agreeing with Tiriara's words would make him look more pitiful and weak. So, even though he was second-guessing himself, Aeneas did his best in the training.

Both Aeneas and Tiriara were shown their inexperience in their matches against the knights. They would fight together in the bouts, but, even after days, they only managed to hit some of the knights before being overwhelmed. Their wooden swords didn't reach knights like Tereus, Rhene, and even Kyra. While Haemon allowed them to hit him, before disarming them.

There were times when training was halted as Arsen would receive a letter, asking for his aid because a beast near Heos went mad. Sometimes other knights would have settled the problem when Arsen arrived. People just wanted to see him and the thought of him arriving as reinforcement removes any lingering worries from both knights at the scene and the people.

These few days, Aeneas and Tiriara were also fond of playing with random toys they saw around the market of their village. They would play in the afternoon after taking a break from their training. Laughing as they teased each other and lived as how a normal youth should.

On the morning of the seventh day of the month of Gemini (June), while Arsen, his knights, and the two kids, were just finished with their training, a messenger bird appeared. It was a trakyon. These birds are almost the size of a hawk but their appearance is closer to a pigeon. They vary in coloration and could use air and earth magic.

Trakyon's are the most common birds used as a way of long-distance communication in all of Nusterra. Aside from being docile to humans, these birds are rarely eaten by predators since they are quite fast and could turn themselves into stone if caught. And the most important part is that they could track the receiver of a parcel from anywhere. All they need is the receiver's hair, or nails. Researchers believe that these birds could perceive a thread of mana linking the hair or nail to its owner because of an extra layer in their grayed-out eyes.

The one that appeared was brown. It landed on Arsen's shoulder. Tied to the front of its body is a small compartment made of light wood. Inside was a letter, a small flattened circular thing that looked like a shell, and a few strands of Arsen's hair.

Arsen took out the letter and unrolled it, his face brightened up the moment he read who it was from at the bottom.

"It's from mother," he said.

The moment Aeneas heard about their mother, his face also lit up. His smile was from ear to ear as he rushed over to Arsen, "What does it say?" he said. And, behind him followed the curious Tiriara. The other knights already moved to help with the chores or clean up. The ones that remained were Donos and Kyra.

Before Aeneas reached him, Arsen's smile turned to a face of disappointment.

The boy noticed it, "Why? Did something bad happen?" he asked, trying to peek at the letter.

Arsen sighed, "Mother used the express."

Donos laughed as he heard what Arsen said. While Kyra walked towards his captain with a surprised expression.

The letter reads,

"My lovely children,

Since my research has borne good results and due to Arsen's letter, I plan to return home on the tenth of the month. I will bring with me gifts for everyone, and medicine for my baby Aenie's sickness. Laochyro is a beautiful city, filled with people and products from all over Nusterra. But, as I walk its gorgeous streets, all I wish was to wander in them with all of you. These thoughts made me miss all of you more.

My dear son, please fetch me at the port of Lapoli on the tenth, my airboat is scheduled to land at around eleven in the morning or at noon. And please tell everyone not to speak to your sister that I have used the express for this letter (I sent this when she returned to the academy).

That is all, love you all, no favoritism but, love you most my baby Aenie!

Your beautiful and loving mother,

Lyra"

Written at the bottom of the letter was the date and time from when the express tower sent the letter, "7th of the month of Gemini, year 1425, 7:30 in the morning," was indicated.

Arsen then clicked a button from the flat circular shell. It was a recorder that spouted the words, "Love you all," from their mother.

Tiriara chuckled, "Your mother called you baby," she whispered.

Embarrassed, Aeneas's face turned red. He reached for Tiriara's cheek with one of his hands and pinched without looking.

Kyra knows that it costs a good amount of money to use the express but doesn't know the exact price. Curious, she asked Arsen, "How much was the fee for the express, captain?"

Arsen sighed, "The last time I checked, it cost two gold and five silver coins," he answered.

"T—that's like more than a week of my allowance. For a one-time letter?" Kyra exclaimed.

The conversion of money is similar in all of the continent of Nusterra. Ten bronze coins are equal to a silver coin, and ten silver coins equate to a gold one. Through the nation of Decatris, located at the center of Nusterra, which acts as the mediator of all kingdoms, these coins were made under a certain standard. Its size is similar everywhere, and the only difference between kingdoms is the figures etched in the coin.

Tiriara joined the conversation, and with great confidence, "It's three gold coins," she said. The girl explained that before moving to Heos, they visited Khrysos, the capital city of Pantera located in the region of Nyros, and her father allowed her to use the express service since she finds it 'amazing'.

Kyra's curiosity peaked, she leaned to Tiriara and asked her about her experience, she even asked what the express tower in Khrysos looked like.

"Well…" Tiriara said that the express tower at Khysos was the tallest structure, far surpassing any other buildings. She said that at the center of the tower, they rode a metal platform operated by people who could use air magic, and they were elevated to the top. Then, they reached an enclosed room with a stair, and once they climbed up the stairs, they were in a lounge with chairs and tables, and a few workers assisting them. Around the lounge are huge rooms pointing in different directions.

And after Tiriara wrote her letter, they went inside one of the rooms. She said that there was a huge web-like net at the center of the room, a huge window which almost like the entire wall wasn't finished, and there was a comfortable nest for a couple of crows at the corner. A person wearing thick rubber gloves took her letter, sealed it in a rubber pouch, approached one of the crows and placed the letter in a rubber compartment tied to its chest. The person then threw the crow out of the window,

"Then, the bird turned to lightning," Tiriara said.

Even Aeneas, Donos, and Arsen found the girl's story amazing.

"But, why does it cost three gold coins?"

Tiriara shrugged her shoulders, "Don't know," she said.

Aeneas began to speak. He remembers a small portion from a book discussing these crows and how the express was made and came up with a reason why the fee for it was so much. The summary of his explanation was that crows were the most difficult birds to train when it came to being messengers.

He said that the book he read states that crows are the fastest beings in Nusterra. Using mana, they create lightning from their body and fly at its speed. Because of this, they couldn't control their landing. But since their feathers are hard and are made of metal, the bird species have found it easier to land by crashing. Multiple small craters could be found around a nest of crows in the wild. Aside from that, even though these crows are masters of dark magic and could dive inside shadows, it was a great contrast to the lightning they use to travel fast so using dark magic to land was unattainable.

With that said, even a slight deviation in their path, they could end up hitting a building somewhere and not reaching their destination. It took hundreds of years to perfect the angle of each express tower in every kingdom of Nusterra and to train a few crows and breed them.

The rubber pouch where the letter was placed is also made of high-quality rubber that could withstand the bird's lightning.

After the lengthy explanation. Tiriara rolled her eyes, "So your mother is at Decatris?" she asked. The others were overwhelmed yet amazed by Aeneas's explanation, but they were also relieved to hear it end.

Aeneas nodded, "She went there months ago," he said.

Tiriara turned to Arsen. She pleaded with him to allow her to come with them when they go to the port to fetch Lyra.

With a smile, "Sure," Arsen said.