Calden Continent
"Everything looks..."
Amarie said, looking out the window with her brows furrowed.
"...different."
Her slender fingers gripped the curtain.
"They have very few trees, and the air smells bad," she added, glancing back toward Isolde.
Isolde, standing at the adjacent window, had her brows knit together,
her eyes fixed on the streets crawling with metal carriages that roared and honked like iron beasts.
"They build like dwarves," Isolde said.
"But their stones do not breathe, and their city does not sing."
"And yet," Aeon whispered calmly, stepping beside her.
They stood in silence,
admiring the city for a few minutes before the door creaked open.
Stepping inside was Luthien, one of the elves accompanying Aeon and Isolde to the human continent.
"I see you've all settled in nicely," she said, approaching them with easy, graceful steps.
"While the rest handle... things, I'll be accompanying your highness and her friends to the Academy."
"What things?" Aeon asked gently.
"Adult matters," Luthien replied with a smile.
"Hmph." Amarie snorted from the side, arms crossed.
"We're just going to be held as hostages while you all negotiate for the humans' teleportation machines."
Aeon heard Luthien sigh softly.
The reason for the sudden transfer from their school to Kingsfield Academy wasn't hidden from them,
especially after they experienced the jaw-dropping teleportation from Eryndor to Calden that had occurred within seconds.
He sympathized with Luthien for having to console the agitated Amarie, who was already starting to feel homesick, just like him.
He wondered if Isolde also had second thoughts now that they were in Calden.
"Take it as an opportunity to see and learn new things," Luthien said, gently placing her hand on Amarie's shoulder.
"With technology like this, the possibility of adventuring into not just Olox and Ravok but also other unexplored continents opens up for us— especially for you three. You'll be future diplomats—I mean who else would they send if not the ones already experienced?"
She clapped her hands gently.
Aeon and Isolde's shoulders trembled slightly at the mention of Olox, the giants' continent, and Ravok, the beasts' continent.
Both lands were rumored to be rich in natural resources but equally dangerous, inhabited by all manner of beasts and giants.
Luthien walked lithely toward a chair, her lustrous, waist-long blonde hair flowing over her curves.
She sat down gradually, one leg crossed over the other, and tilted her head lazily.
Then she spoke softly
"Now pack up your things. I'm told there's an airship waiting outside to take you to Kingsfield."
"What's an airship?" Amarie asked.
Aeon shrugged.
"A ship that sails the air," Isolde replied skeptically.
"You'll see," Luthien said playfully, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
***
Aeon stood on the large, flat roof of the building they had just exited.
Around him were Isolde, Amarie, Luthien, and humans in red vests, openly gawking at them without a trace of shame.
Apart from a large circle drawn on the ground near the gawking humans, the roof was otherwise empty.
"Where's the airship?" Amarie asked.
"It should be arriving any moment now," one of the few humans not wearing a red vest replied, walking toward them with a smile.
"I'm Victor Hale," he said with a slight bow toward Isolde.
"You can call me Victor. I'll be accompanying you on your way to the academy. Feel free to ask me anything along the journey."
Victor had black hair neatly gelled back, a black tailored jacket and trousers, and a tie, giving him a clean, formal edge.
"What exactly is an airship?" Aeon asked.
"Well..." Victor began.
"An airship is a next-generation aerospace craft designed for controlled flight within planetary atmospheres and at high altitudes. Unlike conventional aircraft, it does not rely on fixed wings or rotors. Instead, it uses advanced gravimetric drives to manipulate lift and thrust, allowing vertical ascent, hovering, and silent descen—"
"Stop!" Luthien exclaimed. "Give them the simple answer."
Victor chuckled.
"Alright. It's a giant flying machine that can float, rise, and sink through the sky, making a deep rumbling sound as it moves."
"Look—there it comes now," Victor added, pointing to the sky.
Aeon looked up and noticed a massive shadow lowering.
Blue lights flickered along its sides, growing brighter as it approached.
The deep, heavy rumble of the ship resonated through the air, as if the earth itself were vibrating.
As the sleek, dark vessel descended, glowing rings slowly turned around it.
The air felt charged, like a storm about to break.
"W…wow," Amarie whispered, barely containing her shock.
Aeon noticed Victor's smirk but could not hide his shock, his brows were furrowed in awe.
The airship hovered with an elongated hull, its surface a blend of obsidian metal and shimmering alloys that shifted colors like oil on water.
Faint blue veins of light pulsed along its length.
A hatch opened as it neared the ground, like the belly of a beast.
"That's our cue," Victor said, walking toward the ship.
***
A few minutes after the airship took off, Aeon walked down the corridor and approached Isolde and Amarie, who stood beside the vessel's window.
"It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" Isolde said, steady, lifting her head toward Aeon.
"Yeah," Aeon replied softly.
"Maybe coming here wasn't such a bad idea after all," Amarie added, shifting uncomfortably under her cloak.
"But the stares… that's going to take a while to get used to."
"Definitely," Aeon murmured, unease in his tone.
"I wonder what Kingsfield will be like," Isolde said, arms folded neatly behind her back.
"They might be inventive, but that doesn't make them strong. Intelligence can only carry an inferior race so far."
A smile flickered across Amarie's face.
"We'll crush them," she whispered, a grin curling at the edge of her lips.
Aeon's eyes darkened slightly, the faintest smile tugging at them.
"Should be interesting," he muttered.
They fell into silence,
watching as the vessel streaked through the skies at breathtaking speed, cities and landscapes flashing beneath them.
For the first time, anticipation settled heavily in their chests—they were arriving at Kingsfield.