"I am Star, princess of the Zittane Kingdom; although i'm sure my brother hates that i'm a Zittane." A young girl spoke with her maid.
"Maybe we-uh, we refrain from such words against your blood, miss?" Said the maid.
"Auntie Misuna, you know it's true though!" The smaller girl spoke, nudging back; her body language to the maid seeming more distant than usual.
"You're not wrong to question his mannerisms, but he's your brother. I don't think that he'd actually do anything to… well he's hurt you, but not too badly, yes?" She spoke with a worrisome tone.
"He's literally broken my arm before."
…
"We'll figure something out soon dear, alright?" The maid spoke.
"Yeah…"
"And you're getting married soon! Don't forget you'll meet your mate as soon as it hits twelve upon seeing their face!"
Auntie left the room.
"Not like the pain could ever stop."
And later that night, the pain continued.
"Star, do you know how much trouble you are, and have been giving our dear father?" Spoke a taller man than the maid.
"I-" I couldn't make up a sentence.
"Being completely honest, you are a failure. If I die, you should have no right to the throne. You are a worthless girl, and you will get what you deserve very soon."
"..." I struggle to come up with a response.
"Have a taste of what you-deserve!" Said the man, plunging his fists at me.
Every blow harder than the last, consciousness beginning to fade. It was as if no one else cared so much as to check on my heart.
"Star, sister; I cannot be more dishonored to be your brother." The man continues. "You are of royal lineage, and second place heir to the throne as of current place and time. But I will assure you that won't even be an option for you in your life. From birth you've always been a nuisance to mother, father, and they let you keep living! You are a disgrace!"
Brother soon left the room, leaving me bruised and battered; persuaded and elated at the thought of leaving my current situation.
"Why must I get beaten?" I mutter to myself in the middle of the night. "I just want to be free... Or at least kill me for God sakes if he even exists damnit." I look up at my clock, the messed-up bedroom mirrored the messed-up scene my brother had caused.
"The clock says it is 11:59 EH... I wanna leave..." I mutter again to myself.
BAM!
The window in her room had shattered.
"Dumbifying magic!?" Star questioned in her mind.
Hilt*
A shadowy figure had grabbed Star with both of her friends wrapped around one of his. His stature was mighty as apposed to her, and his mysteriousness was evident from his dark black cloak and the mask they wore.
"So, it's human for sure." But what's he about to do? She thinks to herself in panic, every word in her mind moving faster than the last.
"Instant travel." The dark, gruff voice of the man had spoken.
A sigil appears under the figure and Star, and as it lights up with magical energy, Stars brother bursts through the door with guards alongside him.
"Get back here!" He yells at Star, or to the man. Either way, Star couldn't tell.
But just as he and the guards were getting close, Star, and the figure, disappeared.
Meanwhile Everest*
My mother was kind enough to walk with me in the blackout morning to the train station.
"So, you're saying that monsters can rise from the long dead areas?"
"Yes, although; there have been many improvements in the district around that area." She spoke.
I had been asking my mother on some tips in survival across the Terre Kingdom.
Primarily, my route to the Mizu Kingdom was going to be from the Terre Kingdom borders so that I don't risk many monsters until I go far enough east to find more frigid areas, meaning that Zittane was nearby.
"Come back home soon Everest." My mother says.
"Of course." I responded.
My mother and I embraced, then she began walking away.
After she left, I thought I'd stay at the station lying on a bench until the train came around. There were a few lanterns at the roof of the bench station; with made me surprised once a shadow appeared in front of me.
"Huh, I thought it was clear..." I say to myself.
But then it disappeared. no, it moved really quickly. Just a blink and a miss could've halted my knowing of the situation.
"Someone was just above me!" I spoke to myself, with my voice shaken.
Dashing toward the slaughterhouse, with a girl unconscious wrapped by his arm! My mother used to tell me to mind my business unless things seemed very suspicious as if it wasn't normal…
"HEY, GET BACK HERE!" I yell, whilst chasing the figure.
Looks like she woke up! She looked at me for a second, but I don't think she knew the situation she was in. The figure goes into the building as I follow.
Once I enter, I see the figure was a man, dark cape and hood, his white mask is the most interesting part though, concealing his identity. His mid-section was favorable to black, as well as he carried a very leaden vest. Pants, and boots worked the same, all per a Stygian desire.
"Leave now, or I must punish you."
"What are you trying to do with that girl?" I say to him.
"Hm? Is it any of your business?" He speaks.
"What if I make it my business?" I say, trying to seem stronger than I really am.
"Well then you must be punished." He speaks.
"Crap."
He starts sprinting towards me with a sword, as I point my staff at him and cast a fireball spell.
The blast should be a bit amplified by the staff, but it turned into an enormous fireball, maybe tier 4 magic.
I could see through the eyeholes in his mask, his eyes widened.
He narrowly evaded the attack, though it looked effortless when he finally decided to move. He sprints again as it heads toward the frozen Sheeyak.
I use water magic to extinguish the flames, but the man uses the time to grab the girl and keep moving.
I chase quickly and use earth magic to make a wall and trap the man in the halls of the building.
CRUMBLE! The earth formed up to halt the man.
After feeling out the situation, the man conceded.
The man tossed the unique girl at me, seeming effortless. By his distance, a throw that long should take quite a lot of energy and precision. "Take her to Zittane, and there we will meet again. I do recommend however, that you become a tier 3 spellcaster prior to meeting me again, Everest."
A sigil appears at the bottom of his feet, and he disappears when the light on the sigil is too bright to look at.
"How did he know my name?" I supposed there were many reasons that could be.
I take a look at her for a minute.
"Well, this must be an abductee I heard about from my mother."
I take a longer pause.
"Don't tell me, this is the princess?"
I took her with me to the train station as there was no way I make it home in the hour I have left. The train is a pass for as many people as possible, which is horrible for economic happiness; but in Kamino, not many people go on the train to the Terre Kingdom so... "No, that was still a bad idea." Eventually, the train arrives, so I enter with the girl on my shoulders. What was her name again? Comet?... Well, I hope she and I can get along, although; I don't expect her to be very happy about also being taken to the Terre Kingdom without her consent.
As Everest slept, Star woke up.
"What the-?" she asks herself as soon as she wakes. Star looked around her surroundings, noticing intricate designs in the train, the land the train was on.
"This guy, saved me?" And then realized. "I'm on a train to the Terre Kingdom." She slapped Everest into waking up.
"HEY, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" I say aloud as I wake up, not fully aware of the situation, which disturbs the other people on the train. I wasn't really thinking about her of course, because she points out the obvious.
"Well, you took me on a train to the Terre Kingdom! What is wrong with you?" She speaks.
"Ok, listen; before the shadow-man went away he told me something. He said, 'If you do not attempt to do what I say, I will find and kill your entire family' It's not like I could even make sure because he can teleport. My mother is in her thirties now, so she can't defend herself, and I'm even weaker. So, it was best to do as he said." I didn't expect her to understand.
"Oh, well I'm sorry about that. I'm a powerful mage so I can come in handy sometimes if you need help." She speaks but somewhat mutters at the same time. Maybe this is her way of saying thanks for the rescue?
"Really? Thank you so much… Comet?"
"Yeah, no don't call me by name. In fact, I said only if you NEED my help. Unless you do, you are my bodyguard across Terre, isn't. That. right?" She speaks in a bossy tone, much to my dismay.
Regardless, I took it in the most, people pleasing way I could muster up. I mean, she IS a prodigy, right? "Well, if that works for you, thank you for joining me."
She responds with a firm, "hmph! And my name is Star! Zzz…" She must have been through a lot because she fell asleep immediately after that.
I think to myself, she seems like the kind of person that would give me a hard time. I wonder where Anan is now, hopefully he's enjoying his adventures; no matter what he's had to do, or why he had to do it.
Meanwhile Anan*
"What did I do to deserve this?" Anan asks himself, as he is trapped in a blizzard on a steep, high, and snowy mountain.
"All my comrades are dead; killed by the dragon-panthers, that I thought we could just avoid." He thinks to himself, "This is all my fault."
He finds a small cave connecting the mountain to a stone wall and finds himself at what he recognizes as Icescape town.
"I made it to town?" He asks himself with an uncertainty. "I should still be in the Terre Kingdom; nearby the Fels District." This really doesn't make sense, but a guard on the wall approaches Anan.
"Were you part of the Raiders Squad?"
Relieved to find someone, especially one knowing his group he says, "Yes, they died on the way here, but I don't know how we even got here."
"I'm sorry kid, but that group is part of a criminal organization using time magic."
"Time magic?" Anan thought that it was a fairy tale.
"Under the Dragon Kingdom rules set by our god, you are under arrest." The officer says, with a bit of shame, but he was resolute.
Anans last thoughts in the moment were questions; so many questions were flooding his brain, trying to remember what led up to this delirium.
Back to Everest*
"I'm sure he'll be alright, especially with a brain like his."
I look to my shoulder; Star is laying her head there. She's woken up before falling asleep again for the second time.
Well, she seems to give off the same attitude I've been hearing about from a sleep talking man, preaching the stories of when he was at the Mizu Kingdom attempting to pick up women. "Honestly, I don't care because she's kinda cute when she's sleeping." I whispered aloud. Her hair is black, with light blue at the tips of her strands of hair. Star is also much smaller than me, for being a magician prodigy I may have expected a bit of a stronger looking woman like my mother. Her outfit I assume fits the Mizu Kingdom fashion? She has a robe that can have a tunic attached, likely for chilly wind breast protection. The white definitely compliments her appearance…
"What am I even saying?" I mutter to myself, ending my long rant about Star.
I seriously can't wait to see Anan again. This trip, however, will take me nearly seven months! And I do have to think about that eerie man from earlier. What's his end goal? I couldn't think very long of it because I heard the captain of the train speaking.
"Everyone getting off at the Terre Kingdom, which should be everyone, buh I don't give a shi nonetheless, get ready to leave my damnnn train aight?" The captain spoke, with his gruff, yet slang words.
The captain was some sort of squid-creature, with enough human characteristics to drive, I guess. Eight arms do come in handy I suppose. And it is pretty funny to look at him with a working outfit.
"What're you looking at kid?" He spoke, looking back at me.
"Erm- nothing at all mister."
Looks like we're getting off at the station in the Terre Kingdom any second.
"Lady Star, wake up." Yes, she told me to call her that.
Omake 2: Serpent Continent Crime History
In different Kingdoms, the level and types of crimes vary, Kamino thugs often pickpocket, Terre civilians' riot, and fight cause uproars in the streets. Along with those two, people in the Aimant Kingdom sell illegal goods, Mizu Kingdom members tend to commit fraud on many levels, creating secret identities in order to commit other minor crimes. Finally, in the Dragon Kingdom, most often people decide to commit hate crimes motivated via prejudice. Wealthy pioneers are implementing new regulations and services to lower the risk of said crimes to carry on in their regions.