The new duchy's rot

It had been nearly two week since the Astorea ceremony where he was made the Duke of southern Astorea along with a few other players that were made nobles such as Marchioness Amane and Marquess Alonso who also given their own lands in different regions by King Astor the first. Even though a week had gone by since the biggest event in Astorea, he was still in shock from it all, amazed the King had trusted him well enough to grant him the title of Duke and vast amounts of land. Being a Duke of Astorea now made him second to no one but the King himself and now he could rebuild his noble house that was destroyed long ago. Since that eventful day a week ago, he had returned to his temperory chambers in Castel Dormont drawing up plans and making notes of what was to come of his new lands. The nobles dreamt of an almighty fortress due to the new duchy's new location being in a valley essentially however the Duke himself dreamt of a city within a massive fortress himself. With the plans and the notes written, he still needed to see the land for himself just in case he would have to rebuild his plans up from what he wasn't told such as a hidden lake or river.

After his week of long planing Seto, now known as Duke Kurama to many NPC's and newer players, donned his ebony armor gave word to Lady Cessia he was departing for his newly acquired lands. Following his disparture from Castle Dormont, the next few days on the roads were rather uneventful and quiet surprisingly for him since he was more than used to running into new players, bandits and to even monsters such as elder trolls. He wasn't complaining though, he had just become a noble after all, he would rather.....not die If he had any say in the matter. Trudging through the heavy forest and cutting away any shurbs in his way, he would eventually however find himself towards south of Astorea when he found himself towards the end of the Adecus Forest when forested mountains began to appear in the distance. After nearly four days on the move he was nearly there! Finally he could relax a little and that's what he was going to do. Though early in the day, not even ten in the morning, he been walking since four, it was time for a break as far as he was concerned. Looking for a decent place to lay down, he walked a bit through the forest brush before finding himself a nice spot at a creek. Using both of his hands, he untied his saya on his back that housed his Odachi and placed it on the ground next to the tree he decided to lay down against. Listening to the noise of the flowing water running down the steam, he closed his eyes as he laid his head back against the tree to relax.

@Alric Stalwart @Elmyra Cressen @Romulus @Aselia ​

 

Spawning in Alric found himself once again greeted by the large expanse of forest that he saw during his first experience entering the game the previous day. Now in the southern region of Astorea and with a little better understanding of his own abilities it was time to test himself against the local fauna. First he would need to get used to wielding a sword, so after removing the one handed blade from a scabbard on his belt he made a few practice swings through the air. It seemed simple enough, but would that alone be enough to take down a monster in an actual fight?

‘Probably’.

It was all just a matter of being in the right state of mind for battle. If he tried hard enough he'd be able to win and losing wouldn't even be an option. When he put it like that everything sounded so simple.

---

“I can't believe I haven't seen a single monster yet.” Alric mumbled under his breath as he pushed himself along the forest’s path. This was supposed to be an easy day of training, but instead half the challenge lied in actually finding something to fight. Maybe it was time for a break. Yes, that was all he needed. Closing his eyes he briefly remembered seeing a stream not too long ago that would likely serve as a good place to relax, so he retraced his steps until the sound of flowing water clearly cut through the otherwise quiet air.

He wasn't entirely alone now though. A man decked out in black armor seemed to have had the same idea. Hopefully he would be friendly.

“Hey there! Don't mind having a little company?” Alric didn't wait for a response before taking a seat across the armored player and stretching his now tired limbs out. In a worst case scenario he'd probably die here, so it was a good thing this was just a game.

 

Of course, whatever political decision happened in good old Astorea it won’t concern someone who had logged in for the first time literally just a couple of days ago.

In fact, this is the first time that Elmyra had stepped into the territory of the forestland. The only forests that she concerned herself with beforehand are those of the beginner areas of Falderen, and she was beginning to feel complacent with the familiarity of the location. She had begun to memorize the exact spawn points of herbs and mundane raw materials that their sense of discovery had dulled.

It was, perhaps, time for a change.

That was how Elmyra found herself in the embrace of an unfamiliar patch of forest lands, with its own corresponding plant life. While there seemingly have been overlap of familiar plant life, by and large there are new things here that she could experiment on, perhaps developing new concoctions that she could use later. She even picked up a couple of unfamiliar-looking herbs in unfamiliar-looking clearings already.

Which, naturally, made her hopelessly lost in record time.

As she looked up, she had already forgotten what kind of landmark she took a mental note to remember, its image replaced by a seemingly endless wall of trees. At a distant view the woods themselves seemed to darken very soon and very quickly, an image that doesn’t exactly instill confidence in one’s own prowess in navigation. Naturally, Elmyra picked the path that leads to the exact opposite of the ominous premonition.

She glanced towards the map on the peripheral of her vision. The uniformity of the surroundings seemed to have been infecting her GUI as well, as the map looked pretty much as uniformly inconspicuous as the wall of trees surrounding her, with no landmark to use as a map marker. That’s alright though. All she has to do is to walk single-mindedly into one direction and sooner or later there should be something, anything that could be used as a map marker. Eventually.

Silently, she then withdrew a couple of daggers from her bag, keeping it within arms’ reach. While there haven’t been any monster attacks along the way, she can’t say for sure that there’ll be no monster attack for the remainder of this little journey. Better safe than sorry, right?

After what seemed like minutes – but felt like hours – of walking, Elmyra finally came across a different kind of scenery than the endless row of trees she might finally getting accustomed with. The sound of flowing water greeted her after she finally stepped out of the thick woods, perhaps promising a way out of the forests and into civilization once more. Of course there’s no guarantee that just any running water source will lead to some kind of settlement…

…But then again settlements had been historically built upon sources of water of some kind. With how realistic this simulation can be at times, she won’t be surprised if that kind of little details in world design be adhered.

Realizing that she might as well cling to the possibility, no matter how remote it’ll be, Elmyra followed the seemingly steady current of the water itself. Even if she can’t find a settlement along the way, she might find likely-minded individuals beside herself instead. Individuals that might not be as hopelessly lost as she is.

It hadn’t been long after she decided to follow the stream that she heard another sound besides her footsteps and the quiet stream of flowing waters. It was unmistakably the sound of someone else talking – a young man, by her estimation – just up ahead.

A couple of steps later and the picture up ahead became clearer. It really was a young man talking by the looks of it, but he wasn’t alone. Another man seemed to be there as well, with similarly youthful features but clad in a more ‘convincing’ heavy armor. At the very least, the bespectacled young man in heavy armor looked to be a more experienced player than both her and the other young man. If anything else, sticking closely to them would raise the chances of surviving should the worst case scenario happens.

Allowing herself some respite, Elmyra tucked her daggers into her belt before approaching the other adventurers. She deliberately weighed down her steps and slowed down her pace as to not startle them.

“Excuse me.”

She gave a brief pause to allow her words to settle, before continuing.

“I seemed to have lost my way around these forests. Can I ask for direction to the nearest hub so that I can mark it down in my map?”

 

In high and in low, across the lands to where he marches, the monarch stood tall and proud regardless of the journey, seeking the one place where his heart desires, to where the road leads, he follows. A path with no domain, not bound to choice for that eventually… all roads lead to Rome.

The wilderness tamed him and taught him many things, in this strange new world it has rules, no matter how real or how fictional it maybe, vibrant were the brushes and trees as the birds would sing their chorus and flew in flocks, amongst the tree tops were critters who lay and nest themselves in, a refuge for tits predators, with a pole in hand, the monarch marches forth to a road without aim. To him there was no such thing as being lost, Astorea to him was but a mere garden in the coming foundations of what will be a great civilization. True a new life, a new world and a shaped personality are the important things he must have for this reality maybe false but nevertheless not his own, to tame the land was his goal.

But what is he of foundation without any resource to work with? Nor having a group of settlers for his own, if foundation and civilization will strive, there must be a recluse, a promise so that others can believe and follow him to a path that will earn them prosperity for now and the future.

“The journey is long but for as long as it exists, I march onward with no direction in mind, Rome cannot be bound by mere obstacles for it is the world that will soon covet its Kingdom and so the Kingdom shall covet the world.”

He expected encounters with beasts, so far none have come in his way, was it a good omen? Or was it by chance and circumstance? Either way, the man of Rome travels onward. Jumping down, climbing up once more, passing through the open path that he sees before his very eyes, he yells out:

“ROME…” that scared the birds that nested themselves within the shurbs

“… is certainly not lost.” Its good to have positive thoughts but that does not help his situation.

 

His sleep If he could call it that was interrupted as out in the distance, the sudden foot steps approaching him in the distance, the footsteps became louder and louder as it closed in on his position yet....he did nothing. He couldn't explain it If anyone asked but the footsteps themselves, the noise they made didn't sound like a person who could be a threat, instead it akin to a feather of sorts where the footstep was light and quiet compared to his own at least. Remaining still with his eyes closed, he continued to listen as the footsteps began to get closer and closer from up the river until they stopped only a few feet ahead of him. Out of the silence came a voice, a young man voice similar to in age to himself yet unlike himself, it was friendly and sincere as he asked him If he could relax here with him. Opening his eyes did in fact revealed a young man, also similar to in build to himself, the same height but he was still slim, as far as he was aware, it could have been personal preference or perhaps he forgot to add muscle? Well he would find out one way or another he guessed. Back to the young man's request, his question rung in his head over many times, most people knew him as a wolve, preferring to doing thing solo, not being a people person and all but he was a Duke now, he couldn't afford to be stuck in his old ways as he used to be before the player nation was founded or even when Kurama served that witch he dispised. Clearing his throat, Seto spoke with a friendly demeanor with a dark tone under his breath.

"Very Well, you may relax here, I do not mind since am relaxing at the moment from my trip."

Despite asking for permission to sit, he decided to seat anyway across from him. Seto raised an eyebrow as the unknown young man stretched his arms and legs out. The young man was so calm here, so casual, it was unusual to say at the least, most platers, even new players would have there weapons drawn at the sight of an unknown player infront them, especially him due to his appearance, it was a strange concept to him and this young man was strange as well but at least it wasn't something he had to worry about, from the looks of him, he was quite new, maybe he even spawned in Terrasphere for the first time than it would be his luck the young man came across him.

"You there, Young man, are you a new resident of Terrasphere? What is your name? I am Seto Kurama, Fiend Knight to King Astor the first."​

Strectching his legs out, he took one good stare at the young man before looking over his shoulder towards the rocks with his saya laying on top of it. Grabbing his Saya, he held it in both his hands before drawing his Odachi out of it's resting place. Staring at his blade, he examined his craftmenship and the quality of the blade itself, despite the straightness of the blade, there still laid humps and dried blood of slain enemies on the blade. He sighed at the thought of having of having to use a whetstone to repair it untill he heard more foodsteps in the background yet. Tilting his head slightly, his eyes rolled to the edge of his sockets as he listened to the footsteps get closer to him and the young man, they were of the same of the young man across from him, light and quiet and offered no threat, at the moment anyway. Eventually the footsteps he heard in the distance stopped only a few feet away from him when Seto heard "Excuse me" from the voice of a woman. Looking over his shoulder showed a woman, one older than him and the man across from by a few years, she was similar in height to him but a few inches taller than him but her most distinguishing feature was her long, straight grey hair.​

He didn't try to be rude but he couldn't helpself, chuckling slightly as she asked him for directions. He swore on the gods of this world that was starting to become a gag or a sick joke by the gods, sending him new players at him all the time, he could never get a break could he? "Me a Duke of Astorea? The King should have made me the Greeter of Astorea instead!." He half jokingly said under his breath. This wasn't any time for fooling around he thought to himself! Recollecting his thoughts and his compsure, he looked back up at the confused girl. "Sorry about that, don't mind me. Anyway concerning your question young lady, your near the southern border of Astorea, there isn't anything down here.....yet unfortunately. The closest hub of civilization you get is Dormont and Castle Dormont of Astorea however it is a four days walk from here and there is no road leading from here to there, you could try and follow my makeshift path I made with my Odachi but that will prove difficult most likely. I wouldn't mind showing you the way back on my way back but right now am in the middle of scouting out the land down south for Astorea's sake, I won't be able to return until that is finished. You and the young man are welcome to join me if you wish."

Seto sighed after talking for so long, taking a deep breath in, he cleared his throat before he spoke again to the woman.

"As I've explained to the young man over there, I am Seto Kurama, Fiend Knight in service to King Astor the first. What might be your name my lady?"


@Alric Stalwart @Elmyra Cressen @Romulus @Aselia​

 

Getting lost in an online game seemed virtually impossible and, in fact, Aselia wouldn't count herself as being lost either. Unless someone counted throwing a stick in the air and following the direction the thick end pointed at as getting lost.

Maybe, just maybe, the female Avatar didn't feel lost in a directional sense rather in the grand scheme of things Though being born with adult capabilities while having zero clue about anything around was a sort of experience the soon-to-be-close-combat-magician wanted on purpose. So, really, Aselia wasn't lost at all.

The only problem, yet exciting nonetheless, would be in the event of real combat. It sure was a great idea to pick a mastery that required wrangling with apparently higher beings of existence. Though as of now even that didn't seem to be possible.

Still, picking something amazing like magic over physical feats that already presented herself in the real world was a no-brainer. Thus, with the limitations of her low masteries, if she were to fight it would most likely end up not too good. Even that could also just feel exciting however. Not that Aselia had any masochistic tendencies... .

Regardless, as of now the Newbie had about zero plans what to do. Surely sooner or later something interesting would present itself and walking around in nature, even if virtual, so untouched by capitalism was a great experience in itself. She had probably never even seen cleaner water than that of this river either.

As Aselia continued to mind her own business she soon, as chance wanted it to be, came across another group of people. Great! Deciding to stay low for a few seconds, without even attempting to hide, Aselia was just in time to listen to an introduction. Some sort of Knight to some sort of King, huh? Discerning NPCs from Real Players was so annoyingly hard.

From the look of things however, NPCs or not, the woman could conclude that all three of them seemed to be strangers. 'The young man over there' that needed explanation didn't know Mr. Knight and the eye-color sharing female clearly wouldn't need introduction if she knew Mr. Knight. All in all it seemed rather peaceful.

Nodding to herself in a quick manner Aselia now stepped forward. First impressions and all.

'Yooo how's it hangin?', 'Guten Tag! Sehr erfreut. Ja.', 'Kekeke. Look at all you delicious beauties.' and more things to say were going through her young mind. Considering Mr. Knight over there he could have even tried to play along some sort of roll... maybe even pose as some poor village NPC that somehow ended up getting a bunch of fancy clothes? The only problem was her lack of knowledge about pretty much... everything.

Not to mention that this was pretty much her first contact with other people. So, behaving rather normal only made sense? But who cared? She wouldn't make it so simple.

Ultimately, raising her hand for a greeting, Aselia spoke. "Hey." To nobody in particular before staring into Seto Kurama's eyes. "Fancy meeting you here, Mr. Knight."

@Alric Stalwart @Elmyra Cressen @Romulus @Seto Kurama

 

OOC:Sorry it's short, I didn't want to do much until the rest of them respond.

The two players that had found him didn't get the chance to speak once Seto was finished explaining to the woman how far they were out from civilization when in the distance yet again as unknown footsteps closed into their position until the footsteps stopped and out came a young woman. Looking over his shoulder was a young but small woman, at least compared to him anyway but she seemed to be curvey in just the right places, reminded him greatly of Keade from some time ago. Shaking his head in an attempt to stop thinking of that idiotic woman he meet some time ago, he turned his attention to this new girl as she began to speak in casual tongue. He eyed her in confusion when she just stood there for a moment doing nothing. "Ok? she was weird or something? Where the hell did she even come from anyway?" He thought to himself.

The more his brain tried to understand the logic behind this, the more his brain started to beat, nearly causing a headache. He hoped, he really hoped her logic wasn't similar to Sola or a few other women that just naturally knew how to drive him insane. He became even more confused when this girl looked directly into his eyes and spoke to him like as If she had already knew and had some sort of friendship with him. He closed his eyes as he sighed before face palming himself gently while his head nodded slightly. It was offical, this girl had the potenial to drive him nuts but at least she was no where near the level of Sola, he didn't think anyone could top her and her logic. Looking back up at the girl, he rested his head on his hand that held his head up with his elbow resting on his leg and his hand resting on his left cheeck. He tried his best to speak with a polite tone.

"Do I know you miss? You have to forgive me, I've meet alot of people in my travels and apparently it usually happens in a manner similar to this and sadly I do not recognize you among the women I have met during those travels. I do not know if you overheard me from earlier but in case you didn't, I am Seto Kurama and as you already know, Fiend Knight in service to his grace, King Astor the First of Astorea. If your lost or you just spawned in this world, you will be out of luck unfortunately. The closest piece of civilization is four days from here and there no road system since southern Astorea is undeveloped. I can take you back with me but I need to scout the lands south of here where you can see the mountains in the distance, near the border with Norfova."
​

 

“WHOA! I've never met an actual knight before.”

It was hard to conceal how his visibly excited he was. Like a child who was seeing Santa at the mall during the Christmas season for the first time he was eager to continue a conversation with the armored man. Alric had nearly forgotten the man’s questions as he was scooting closer to inspect the armor and gently tap it with his hand. Being able to touch actual armor like this was so cool. Seto probably wouldn't mind as long as he didn't go too overboard.

“My name is Hi- I mean, Alric. Alric Stalwart.”

Of course he wasn't quite used to using his in game yet. It was something he had to work on if he wanted to survive here, especially considering how close his avatar was made to resemble his real appearance. If relations with those around him soured it could potentially have dire consequences on his real life after all.

At some point two other players had shown up, each for different reasons, but neither seemed quite as interesting as the fiend knight so Alric didn't pay either much mind. It wasn't like he was in any position to really help them anyway. Still being beings newb himself he was probably the last person someone should seek as a guide.

“And yeah I only just started playing over the last few days. Not really sure what I'm doing yet, but hey I just got a genius idea: You should make me your apprentice!”

 

Elmyra felt like she made a mistake somewhere.

To be fair to her, that would explain the sudden outburst of crankiness from the young man with the glasses, who had claimed to be some kind of royalty of the land. Now, by that point she would probably assume that he was an NPC of some kind, but the way that he ranted felt less like an NPC and more like that there’s a human in the back of that persona. At least what he said felt rather unscripted. If this is some lead up to a quest then it’s a rather…realistic lead up to a quest, if that makes sense.

Still, it would also make sense if this Astorea is a player-run nation, which also makes a certain amount of sense. That would also make a lot of sense since the young man claimed to be a Duke of Astorea and felt that he didn’t get the respect he deserves. To be fair to her, and pretty much everyone else here, the Duke hadn’t been in his best…well, royal stature at present time, and it’s easy to just mistake him as a ‘common’ experienced player.

…Well, with the way that players had beginning to crowd around him, you’d be forgiven if you mistake this particular scene as a prelude to an NPC quest. As she felt that more and more people coming to greet the self-proclaimed Greeter of Astorea, she instinctively pushed her presence more to the side as to not make her own misfortune take center stage. However, once she’s addressed however, she wasted no time in answering. Somehow she could sense that wearing the young man’s patience is an ill-advised course of action considering he seemed to have little supply of it in the first place. Call it a hunch.

“Hmm…truly I must’ve taken some wrong turns somewhere along the road.” With a few gestures at the invisible GUI, she marked her makeshift directional prompts on the map. It might not crude, but at least she now knows which direction to walk.

“My name is Elmyra. Elmyra Cressen.” She said, adding a polite nod to the direction of the young nobility. “I’m a…let’s say Herbalist. My travels to search for potential new herbs have taken me…far from any familiar sight, so to speak.”

She then grew quieter as the others expressed their…perhaps not quite amazement in the case of the girl, but definitely in the case of the boy. At the very least the young nobility doesn’t have to seek high and low for ready-made companions, they seem to be ready to follow him.

Though she hoped that he doesn’t mind having companions that’s still new to the game. Elmyra herself is one thing, but she can also deduct that the boy is also a new player, given that he almost stumbled on introducing himself. The girl is a bit of an enigma, given their first contact was literally just a polite nod and one word of interaction, but judging from the quality of her equipment she’s almost as monetarily-challenged as herself.

“As for the offer, I have no particular objection with travelling together, though…” As she paused, she observed the now veritable swarm of players seemingly already surrounding the young man. “…Are you really don’t mind travelling with someone with little experience of the game as myself?”

 

Perfect. The Duke seemed to be one of these people who didn't remember every nobody they met rather than having some sort of scary photographic memory. Either that or he simply tried to be polite.

Apart from him there was also this young boy who behaved overly excited. Maybe he was some kind of medieval-times freak? Though the white-hair wasn't one to judge even if she made a mental note nonetheless.

Then, the last of them, was the one that appeared most normal. She didn't ask some stranger to be their apprentice 5 minutes after meeting and neither did she make a point out of using whatever fancy titles might have been available to her.

Considering the reaction of the Knight was in the realm of expectations, Aselia now seemed truly hurt - disappointed in fact. As if two long lost friends reunited after a long time and one did not recognize the other. The red-eye was just about to speak up as another idea popped into her mind. Just how far could she go with this?

It sounded like a more-or-less fun idea. The woman had no higher purpose for that matter and simply did because she could. "You... don't remember?" If only she could fake tears, too, that would have been pretty useful now. "You see... I have lost my memory. All I remember, vaguely, is this face of yours and my name! So I was overjoyed at this fateful meeting and hoped you, Sire, could help me out."

For a second Aselia also considered to add in some cheesy romance-y lines just because. Alas even if playing in the body of a female felt... unique, they were still certain limits that were not to be crossed. Ultimately though it sounded pretty ridiculous and if they called her out on it or simply went along didn't really matter all too much.

"You may call me Aselia Blanc." The white-hair finally introduced herself. Now, if she was lost or not, that was something she would let each decide on their own.

 

He would be lying If he wasn't a little surprised by the young man's outburst, of course he never met an actual knight before either in real life, It wasn't like he was one. This player must have been really new for him to act this way consider most knights were common in this world. Rolling his eyes, he simply wanted to dissapear as the young man acted like a child during the holidays seeing one of their favourite mascot, the thought of killing him had came across his mind when he started to touch his armor like some child but in the end it was better to just deal with it and save his energy for far more important matters than something so trivial such as this. At least eventually after the endless touching of his armor did the young man finally tell him his name was Alric Stalwart and told him what he had already believed, being a new player. The next thing that came out of his mouth surely surprised him to say at the least. "Squire?"He nealry choked on his own words after he had heard that from Alric. He had never thought of having a squire, quite honestly he wasn't sure If he had ever even seen one in this world now that he had thought of it. The more he thought of it however, he wasn't opposed to the idea but this youn man, this Alric seemed to think he was some shining knight in armor or something like that, Seto could assure him he wasn't anything like that, quite the opposite to the many in this world.

"Hmph.....Perhaps.....I will take anyone into my serivce providing such person can prove themselves capable, I have no need for the weak in the world of politics and war and let it be known that I am no knight in shining armor or hero, I am the opposite of such ideals, I do what is necessary and morality doesn't exist as far as I am concerned."


From the corner of his eye, the long hair woman looked like she wanted to leave, like she had done something wrong, he wasn't quite why she looked like that, was it seomthing he said earlier? Like his little rant muttered to himself? He did tell her to ignore it so why was she acting like that? She than spoke out loud or was talking to him, he couldn't tell as she said out loud she must have taken a wrong turn somehwere. He didn't really get any time to think how horrible that was as she politely introduced herself to him as Elmyra Cressen, a Herbalist whom was traveling around the regions for new and rare herbs. He couldn't quite understand why many women picked healing or alchemy but he learned after awhile to stop questioning it since it had saved his ass more times than he would have liked to admit, especially with Sola.She did silent but she cought his attention speaking again, asking him If it was alright for herself and the others whom were new players to join him. Frankly at this point in his life in this virtual world, he really couldn't care less anymore, before when he was just a slayer among men, he hated working together with people but now, he didn't have a choice in the matter. He was a Duke now and he would need to get used to working with people now on for he would eventually need an army of his own to expand his land and to defend it against invaders.

It matters little to me, I do not mind the company. I may not be the biggest socializer on here despite what is required of me due to my title but am no different in the real world. Believe it or not, I was orginally a noob like the lot of you so I don't particularly mind helping new people since no one helped me when I first spawned in this hellish world. I do sear though.......Terrasphere loves playing the gag where no matter where I travel, new players always spawn near me for the first time. Stay here long enough in this world and you could attain power you never thought possible in real life. Hmph, I think I'd rather prefer to fire a wave of energy out of my hand than drive a car."​

After he had been done finishing what he wanted to say to Alric and Elmyra, the red eyes of the short hair weird girl cought his attention as she spoke to him like they were long lost firends or something like that, she was trying really hard to convince him that she lost her memories and could only remember his face and her name. He certainly didn't remember meeting someone like her and the way she was acting would make it quite hard to forget someone like this in his mind, not to mention something seemed....off with her like she hiding something and that rubbed him the wrong way. At the end of her speech, she did tell him her name, Aselia Blanc. With his eyebrows raised, he eyed her with scepticism as he turned to look at her and speak his own mind on the subject.

"I find that.....hard to believe Aselia. You don't come off as a type of person that would be forgotten such easily....no you give off a certain aura that can't be ignored so I don't believe youlost your memories. If you did meet me than it must have been a long time before I became a Fiend Knight or even Duke. I have had little time since I became a Fiend Knight and there were even less times I encountered new players. As Duke of Southern Astorea your the first batch of players I've meet since my coronation. I won't bother to ask for your reasons If you don't want to tell me, there is much to do."​

Forching himself up using his muscles from against the tree, he grabbed Odachi's saya and requipped it to his back, tying the straps around his armor to make sure it wouldn't move or fall under any circumstances. He than turned to meet Alric and Elmyra and pointed to the mountains south of their position seen through the shrubs and trees with his right hand.

"See those mountains? That's where am going? Am not going to climb them but south of here is a mountain valley, that is my destination, If you wish to follow than come, I've honestly wasted enough time relaxing, it's time to get back to it."​

walking past the three players, he Singeled them to follow with the waving of his right hand.​

 

Alric crossed his arms across his chest as he bowed his head slightly in thought. Only those who were capable, eh? He was plenty capable! …Or at least he would be once he knew what he was doing. Still it seemed kinda odd that Seto was taking this so seriously. TerraSphere was just a game, right? Yet when he spoke of things such as politics and war it came across with a certain weight behind each word. With the amount of details that were put into making everything look and feel like another world rather than a game it might have been easy to forget what was actually real.

So lost in thought, he hardly noticed when the knight began walking away from the little group that had formed around him. Alric was determined now. He'd learn whatever the man had to offer and become just as strong, if not stronger! Starting a casual stroll after Seto he walked behind the armored player while passively surveying the mountains that waited ahead.

“So to serve under you I just have to prove I'm not weak, right? That doesn't sound so tough.” He said while glancing back to see if either Elmyra or Aselia decided to follow as well.

 

Well, that’s…more agreeable than she thought. Although she couldn’t help but think that the Fiend Knight had done this more out of a newly-instilled sense of noblesse oblige rather than any semblance of altruism.

Still, she probably shouldn’t punch the gift horse in its mouth…or whatever that proverb actually goes. Four heads, at this point of time, is certainly better than one, especially since these are foreign lands and the only things she knew about these lands are what the Duke had told her. A quick glance at the Duke’s armaments would reveal that they’re not what you’d call light, especially that Oodachi, suggesting that these lands aren’t safe at all.

…Which means she was incredibly fortunate to not run into any hostile beasts on her trek from the Falderen to this Astorea. She wondered if following the path of the harvestable herbs significantly reduced the chance of encountering hostile beings. She’d have to keep that in mind the next time she wants to travel.

Before she could express her agreement or refusal to the offer, the Duke took the initiative and walked past the assembled group and to the direction directly behind them. He pointed out to a distant mountain with his right hand, saying that he intended to walk the distance until he reached the mountain, which is…well, it looked quite a walk. Then again, he also said that the Astorean center of civilization is about a few days’ worth of walking, so it might be more accurate to assume that they’re really in the middle of nowhere.

Sophie only needed to a few seconds in order to decide which one she prefers. Again, travelling with a group is a heck of a lot safer than just wandering around in your own. If the distance travelled are similar, she’d rather do it with the company of someone who wears a heavy armor. Well…perhaps the reason why he constantly being directed newbies is because he’s good at dealing with them? That’s a thought.

…If nothing else, he had proven to be rather popular with the new players, the other two no exception to this rule. Well, at least the boy looked to be the genuine article. The other girl seemed to be content with playing coy with him in order to tease the Duke mercilessly. At least that’s how it looked like to her.

“I’ll take you up on the offer then.” Elmyra said, answering the wave of his hand by turning around and following behind the knight and his newly-appointed ‘squire’. She caught a glance towards the other girl to see if she’s following this makeshift group, but she doesn’t strike her as someone who prefers walking for days in complete solitude. I mean, there are players like that – someone even mistook her for one – but not her, and her status as a newbie further compound this point.

Before she walked very far from their starting position, Elmyra took the opportunity afforded to her by the seemingly peaceful enough situation to withdraw her crossbow from her bag and load it with a steel bolt. It might not be the best crossbow in the world – she basically pilfered it from a blacksmith’s bargain bin basket – but for the purpose of defending herself from hostiles, it’s better than scrounging up rocks to throw at them.

“Speaking of which, what kind of threats can be found around here usually?” She asked, her crossbow now in her hands. There’s also a couple of potions inside the bag, but they’re of limited quantity and she never expected to be in this situation so she’d never know if they’re of enough quantity for the rest of her makeshift party. Better to just ration them for now…

 

"Well, well, harsh words from a knight in shining armor." Aselia slightly teased as she started following the group, now, too. Maybe it was just her imagination but the way the Noble gestured made it seem like she wasn't actually welcome in their small party.

"I don't really care where my travels might take me but being with a group seems to be the more fun alternative." By now the white-hair decided to not pursue the 'lost-memory'-case any further.

"Though, tell me Mr. Knight, what exactly is a Fiend Knight? Seeing how you're in denial about what most kiddos are dreaming of, not to mention how you seem to take playing war rather serious, there's more to it than simply sounding... unique?" Maybe the King or whatever he was serving was an actual Tyrant of sorts? Well not like the red-eye had much in the morality department herself.

Her eyes now wandered to the cross-bow of the other female. "Seems like I'm the only one without a weapon around here." Though she could use her fists regardless.

 

Looking back over his shoulder, it was quite amusing to him to have Alric right behind him, his promising words of perhaps being a squire one day prompted the young man to become determined, following him without hesitation but what about the two, Elmyra Aselia? Alric interuppted his thoughts with a question of his own...of sorts. The fact Alric asked him If he could server him after he proved he wasn't weak made Seto chuckle slightly, he did have some honour, he would honor his word yes but Alric thought it would be so easy, he had a another thing coming. If he had his way teaching the boy, Alric would go through the same suffering he did, which also included dealing with a monster of his own in his own mind just as Merkaba had done to him, only fair right?

"No you say uh? If you ever find yourself worthy of such honor, You have much to learn Alric, You will go through the same suffering and pain I have witnessed and you will be broken just as my orginal master broke me, We shall see than....If you can survive and prosper."

Looking over Alric's shoulder, Elmyra was behind him and Alric, she had made herself quite clear she was taking up his offer. He didn't answer right away siince he was answering Alric's question but he did hear Elmyra's comment she was coming with him. turning his back to his makeshift party, he began walking again through the thick brush of the Adecus forest, pushing the branches of tree's and shrubs out of his way. either bending them or outright cutting them in half by his hands, he made sure to watch the ground as he walked, fully knowing mud and large stones materialized in the Adecus Forest commonly, he couldn't say it was a happy feeling going feet first into a puddle of mud after tripping over a rock! It was than Elmyra decided to ask him another question, this time asking about the threats of the Adecus forest and If they would be in danger, Seto turned around again to face Elmyra.

"Besides the usual like wolves that seems to enjoy new players with their bear hugs? Hmm well there is orc's, goblins, Ogre's, Trolls, Elder Trolls and......Pigmen......Let's just say you gals want to avoid them at all costs." Making a fist with his hand, he covered his mouth as he coughed slightly, If one was perceptive enough, they could tell his caughs were fake but it wasn't exactly like he was trying either."Pigmen are.....attracted to humanoid women.......don't ask, you really......don't want to know." Elmyra's crossbow grabbed his eye's attention, he didn't realize she was carrying a weapon, well that would come in handy he though, range wasn't an issue to him obivously but it was good to know he wouldn't have to watch over her during their entire time together, she would need to look after herself anyway If she ever hoped to survive in this world.

After his conversation with Elmyra, Seto rolled his eyes as he heard Aselia's teasing words, He wasn't the hardest person to annoy but he was starting to believe Aselia was now doing what she was doing just to annoy him, calling him a Knight in shining armor. He really didn't enjoy people calling him that, that was more of an insult that anything honestly when they called him that, He couldn't tell If she was stupid or simply playing with him, probably the later but it wasn't hard to tell the differences from a White Knight and a Fiend Knight.....alright maybe it was for certain people....like a certain person he knew who never used her mind for almost anything but that was a topic of another day. How Aselia acted, he could certainly tell she wasn't the serious type like him, taking a more laid back demeanor with her words, saying it be more fun to be him with Alric and Elmyra than on her own. What came next resulted with him with the palm of his hand against his forehead after Aselia asked him what a Fiend Knight was, he was certain now she was an idiot If she couldn't figure it out on her own.​

continuing onwards through the jungle, he initally ignored answering Aselia's question allowing his Jets to cool somewhat, he didn't need to act like a child over such things. After a few minutes of moving through the forest, cutting down any brush in his way and evading any mud puddle along the path he was following in his head, using the mountains in front of him as guidence, only than did he finally answer, stopping dead in his track, he swung his body around, doing an about face with his right foot. Raising his arm up at the height of his chin, at first his hand was in the form of a fist but after mere moments of sending his energy to his hand, out from the fist, his plam burst opened as a darkened purple, vile looking flame took shape in his palm, it flickered through through the air as it deperately tried to reach one in his party as it had a mind of it's own.

"It should be obvious but to those who need a lession, Look at this....dark, vile energy that sits in the palm of my head, it screams at me to consume one of you......This dark and vile energy I have harnessed from my body is called Malefimancy. There are many things I could do with this power from cursing one of you to death by consuming your life force to allowing it to feast on my insides so I gain unreachable power to those who could wish for such power. This is what a Fiend Knight is....Besides only being skilled in battle with a blade, must be able to harness the dark energies of this world and use it against those who are foolish. The Most powerful of us can even manifest demons to do our bidding. As for Aselia's comment, I take war seriosuly because I Know war in the real world and know what it brings, I've fought and seen people die in the most horrifying matters possible to entire cities destroying with blood and corpses laying in the streets, it is no different here unfortunately. I am also the Duke of these lands, It is also my responsibility to build these lands up and make it prosper, there will be war in the future and when it happens which it will, I lead my people through it, weither through the noble courts or be where the fighting is thickist, there is no other way around it."​