Requesting an Audience

Continuing further down his walk, William calmly watched the city's lively scenery. He quite liked its bustling personality and had become rather interested in exploring its many intricacies within the last two days. Such was the nature of his character. 

However, while it may have appeared that he paid the important task assigned to him by his father little care, the truth could not be more opposite. William would never dare take anything which involved the affairs of his kingdom lightly. 

Furthermore, he would never do so when the issue which he had been sent in to mediate involved the armed conflict between one of Vanastrea's warships and The Sounra Kingdom's South Eastern Port City; Al-Neryda. 

Such a skirmish would, under normal circumstances, have already sparked a deadly war between the two kingdom's naval powers. However, considering the special relationship between the two kingdoms, that of dominator and vessel, William's job here was simple.

It was to remind The Sounra Kingdom that regardless of the circumstances, they should never forget that daring to act against them would result in a retaliation which would crumble the very idea of this desert kingdom to the ground. 

Their alliance aside, The Vanastrea Kingdom was currently regarded as the most powerful land within the known world. A product of the sheer amount of Great Powers which walked within its borders. Such beings were unrivaled among both heaven and earth, as a result, it is said that even a Dragon would not dare fly too high within its lands.

And within The Fifth Age, The Dragon Age, The Great Ranks were everything. 

However, while William did not wish to limit his harsh approach, he better than anyone knew a troublesome truth. The current Vanastrea Kingdom stood too divided to properly move the powers underneath its skies. As such, no matter how vexing, William would need to appease this nation somewhat.

That cursed father of mine has truly troubled me this time… 

Thinking such to himself, William, along with Vince and Rosena, at last exited the small market which they had been traversing. Upon doing so, he immediately reached out and called forth a passing carriage currently being dragged by a large four-legged lizard-like creature. The creature possessed orange scales which would have blended perfectly with the sand had the entire city's ground not been padded by stone.

The driver noticed William's call and immediately pulled upon the reins to halt the beast. The broad four-legged lizard released a low growl which made one's body vibrate even when situated more than ten meters away. 

William did not hesitate to take cover under the carriage's embrace, Rosena followed suit while Vince began speaking with the driver. Within a dozen seconds, the carriage began moving once more. 

They traversed the city for a following hour before finally arriving at their destination. The trio then exited the carriage and proceeded to pay the owed amount to the driver. William then turned to face a massive yard which was hidden behind a thick ten meter tall rampart. 

Around the wall's gate were numerous soldiers cladded in rust colored armor, none bothered by their attire even as the scorching heat assaulted them. 

Seeing such, William commented. 

"They are men of endurance if nothing else." 

Glancing upon him, Rosena added. 

"Your royal highness, while I hate to cheapen the facade, their armors actually have runes engraved into them. They are disguised well, seeming as nothing more than decorative features of their armor. However, when passing them, the Atmospheric-Mana around them is being moved, flowing through the runes and towards the two Fire Mana-Gems etched to their vambraces. It is a rather impressive method to ward away the heat."

Raising his eyebrows slightly, William's lips curled into a charming smile. 

"Rosena, your title is truly earned, I doubt many could notice such things upon a glance alone." 

Rosena shook her head before continuing with a hint of enthusiasm. 

"Actually it is rather simple, I am certain any Sorcerer above the Initial-Rank could do so at a glance. Language Magic is not known to be subtle upon activation after all."

William chuckled. 

"Not subtle for magic users you mean… Regardless, since we do not share the luxury they do, let us not linger." 

William began walking towards the distant gate, arriving before them shortly after. When he did however, three guards stepped forth and warily glanced at them. One of them then stepped forward, his visage was rough and possessed both a thick beard and a set of bushy brows while completely lacking a speck of hair upon his shimmering head. Additionally, his armor had a more elaborate design etched onto its rust colored surface, along with him being the only one present which wore a maroon cloak made of fine cloth. Upon seeing him, it was rather easy to discern that he was the guard captain.

When examining the three unknown figures, the guard captain, Lardah-Ru, could not help but knit his brows as his voice turned unfriendly. Booming forth, he demanded. 

"Halt! State your purpose for nearing the pristine estate of The Venerable-Warden!" 

As Lardah-Ru's voice traveled forth, the two guards to his side reached for their sword handles as a soft emerald green illusory glow began emitting from their bodies. That subtle glow soon grew more ferocious, raging around the two guard's bodies like illusory fires before transforming into a palpable pressure which extended outwards.

As the two invisible pressures rushed forth, they seemed to distort the sun's light wherever they passed. Upon seeing this, William's brows furrowed before he felt the pressure slam into his body. As a result both he and Vince were made to take a few steps back. 

"They are rather boorish, aren't they." 

William said coldly before then defiantly taking a few steps forward, returning to his previous standing. Naturally the two pressures continued to assault him however he found the thought of yielding to them once more as unbecoming. 

To his side, seeing the invisible force impact William, Rosena, who remained unshaken this entire time, suddenly furrowed her smooth brows. Her eyes then shone with a murderous fury before she quickly calmed herself. 

They are but victims of ignorance.

As she thought so, she casually swiped her right hand whilst saying in a cold voice; 

"I shall never understand why swordsmen feel so eager to flaunt their Auranic Pressure wherever they go." 

When her hand finished its leisure gesture, the space around her trembled as a gust of wind suddenly gathered and shot forth. The power of the wind gust immediately overpowered the invisible pressures which lingered throughout the air before splitting into two streaks of raging tides which directly targeted the two guards. 

The two guards could not even think of reacting before their bodies were hit by what felt like a mountain ramming into them at a tremendous speed. Their armors immediately imploded, causing numerous shards of steel to dig into every inch of their flesh before they were sent flying back like human javelins. 

Bang!

Bang!

Soon after, the two guards impacted the thick stone rampart which surrounded the grand estate. The stone did not give in under the impact, however the two human javelins did, the sound of their bones shattering to countless smithereens reverberated throughout.

The rest of the guards watched on with absolute terror in their eyes as two Initial-Rank Swordsmen were turned into bloody pulps before them. Some immediately ran to help their fellow soldiers while the rest glanced warily at the unknown figures. 

And in front of them all was Lardah-Ru. Currently his eyes too shared in his guard's terror as he crossed his arms before his face. His heavy steel boots were deeply etched onto the stone floor while two vertical lines which began where he had previously stood and ended where he was currently situated could be seen. 

Lardah-Ru's bushy brows were tightly knit together as his expression turned ugly and his entire body trembled slightly. He had not been targeted, yet just their passing resulted in such a powerful pushback. Had he not tensed himself with all of his strength, then he might have very well been lifted high in the air by the two terrifying gusts of wind. 

Such a display of power was appalling! Especially so because he was of The Ascended-Rank. Trepidation filled his heart as he stared at the three figures before him, most especially at the slender beauty cladded in gray robes. 

Prior, she had not even made a sound, yet now, her every movement seemed to be accompanied with small shimmering's of light which danced around her. It was as if the world itself was exuberant to be near her. Sensing something, he stared down at his armor, at the runes which decorated it. Lardah-Ru saw its previously unseen flowing of Atmospheric-Mana being sucked away from it, causing its cooling effect to begin weakening. 

His eyes grew wide as he quickly raised his head. Only then did he notice yet another harrowing thing. Like a subtle vortex, the Atmospheric-Mana all around them was moving towards her. Drawn uncontrollably to her. 

His body trembled once more, however this time much more viciously. 

Could she be…?!

With a horse, trembling voice he asked.

"W-Who— Who are you all?!" 

As William heard those words and saw the utter terror upon the head guard's expression, he could not help but sigh inwardly. Despite how they had reacted, he could not take offense to their aggression, after all, as he was now, who would ever believe he was of any importance? 

Good thing the elders of the distant past had great wisdom. 

He thought as he reached into his pockets and took out an insignia carved from gold and engraved with many diamonds. As Lardah-Ru's shaken vision fell upon the small item, he heard William's calm voice proclaim. 

"Hello soldiers of Rellunh, my name is William Emestra, royal prince of The Vanastrea Kingdom. I am here to beseech you to inform Barunh-Ru, The City's Venerable-Warden, that I request an audience with him." 

Lardah-Ru, along with the swarms of guards behind him fell into a momentary state of utter stupefaction. After all, on a regular day, without any prior warning, and from a group which appeared like insignificant commoners, such a harrowing proclamation arose. 

Lardah-Ru was the first to recover. Pondering solemnly, the situation from just moments ago suddenly became clear. Meanwhile, behind him, some of his soldiers felt ill will towards the unknown individuals which had hurt their fellow comrades, they instinctively wanted to reject this supposed identity, however the insignia was a far too irrefutable evidence for them to ignore. Doing so might very well lead to their heads being detached from their bodies.

Furthermore, with such a show of might by the slender woman to the side of the young man making the proclamation, any sparks of doubt quickly faded. 

Rapidly adjusting himself, Lardah-Ru turned to his men and ordered. 

"Take the two for treatment." 

Now that it was revealed who these figures were, the fact that the lives of the two guards were spared even after what they had done was nothing short of a miracle, or perhaps a sign of their benevolence. As his guards followed his commands, Lardah-Ru turned to face the three figures before bowing his head low. 

"Venerable-Highness, I ask that you forgive my previous discourtesy…" 

William shook his head. 

"It is a past matter already so worry not, however shall my request be granted?" 

Lardah-Ru raised his lowered head before speaking forth apologetically. 

"Venerable-Highness, I am afraid that your request may not be possible." 

William's brows knitted as his eyes asked the obvious question; why not? Lardah-Ru could only nervously continue under such a gaze. 

"Venerable-Highness, Barunh-Ru; The Venerable-Warden, has fallen ill…" 

Seeing that William's face turned more complicated, Lardah-Ru hastily added. 

"However, there is still another figure whom you can seek an audience with, he shall perhaps be more fitting for your company than even The Venerable-Warden… That is none other than The Sounra Kingdom's First Son; Ceunh-Ru Sounra, our Venerated-Prince."

William's brows could not help but raise upon hearing the guard's words. Before entering The Sounra Kingdom from its eastern border with The Laywin Kingdom, he had already read over the known information of all the seven current wardens, the heads of each city. However, nothing had suggested that the royal children of Sounra ever ventured regularly towards any of the two market cities. 

Is this perhaps due to the warden falling ill? Hmm, well I suppose it matters little. 

After a moment of silent pondering, he nodded. 

"Very well, then let us meet with this esteemed figure." 

Lardah-Ru quickly nodded profusely before turning and barking at his men. Immediately after, all the guards exploded into a cacophony of activity. 

Shortly after, the large steel gates groaned as they were pulled back. 

"Please, follow me." 

Heeding his call, the three began following Lardah-Ru beyond the gate.