Upon revealing to whom the message was meant for, Trutet was escorted into the valley by the guarding Koliean male dressed in heavy armor.
Trutet looked calm on the outside but was incredibly nervous stepping into the territory of a former enemy race.
As he was lead into the settlement, Trutet couldn't help but have his eyes wander around, observing the lifestyle of the Kolieans.
Unlike his people who would often just sit and sing or express themselves, the Kolieans were all busybodies.
Kolieans of all ages could be seen engaged in some sort of strange activity to him. Afar he could see a group younger ones closely following an older looking feel in an orderly line, their forms disciplined and serious.
In the same way he was curious, many Kolieans in the settlement streets glanced at Trutet as he walked across the stoney marble like paths.
Soon, he was taken to the largest building in the settlement, located at the far back and built into the mountains, forming a colossus of a structure.
A large and wide set of steps greeted him as he looked at the large shimmering doors leading into the building, two female Koliean guards stood on either side, brandishing their weapons firmly.
The Koliean guard escorting Trutet stopped there and yelled, "He has a message for Matriarch Elia, from the king candidate of the Aethelians!"
Having said that, the guard gave Trutet a small shove, "proceed carefully and speak only when spoken to, our kind do not tolerate insolence on our soil."
After providing that warning, the Koliean guard fluttered his wings violently and took to the skies.
'Arrogant beasts!' Trutet cursed inwardly but didn't show any reluctance on the surface and proceeded forward.
Before long, he was escorted inside and made to climb up several steps. Soon enough though, he found himself at many floors up and on an incredibly large balcony, it's ground covered in beautiful and lush green grass and it's sides lined with shimmering stoney rails.
It resembled a large garden, though the flora present was minimal and quite dull. What truly caught Trutet's eye was at the edge of balcony, a chair overlooking the view had a single Koliean female seated on it.
Her figure like most Kolieans was tall, standing well over 2.5 meters. Long black hair flowed elegantly down her back as the mountain breeze blew by, giving her a sort of serene and wise appearance.
Once the two female guards stepped foot on the grassy patch of the balcony, the female turned her head to the side, at that moment her piercing grey blue eye meet with Trutet's gaze as she gave him a side glance.
"Who is this?" The Koliean woman asked, her voice low, calm and distant, as if she gave little care to the beings before her.
In response, one of the guards stood firmly and answered immediately, "A messenger Matriach Elia, sent by the aethelian King candidate Lufair."
"I see, then leave us." The woman, Matriach Elia, turned her head back and continued to overlook the view before her as the two guards left without saying a word.
Trutet was a bit confused and overwhelmed, even standing near her, he knew she was dangerous, incredibly so.
Although Koliean culture had many titles for leaders such as Jor for men and Queen for women, the latter title didn't mean much.
For men, a position of Jor was given to the strongest male, plain and simple. Whereas for females, the title of Queen was bestowed upon a young Koliean female of great potential, one who would act as the instrument of the true powers behind the Kingdom of Kol, the Matriachs.
The title Matriach was granted only to the wisest and most powerful of females with long life experience, each one having held the title of Queen before.
And the Trutet knew the Matriach before well enough by reputation alone. The last generation Koliean Queen, Matriach Elia.
Unsure of how to begin, Trutet simply kept silent, causing a short silence to prevail. It was broken only when Matriach Elia spoke, "Well, what message do you have for me?"
Trutet felt a bit relaxed, despite her imposing presence, Matriach Elia didn't seem to carry herself with the same arrogance most Kolieans possessed.
Not wanting to waste her time, he spoke quickly, "My sire wanted me to inform you that a young Koliean male came into aethelian territory, our ancestor showed great interest in him and appeared out of his isolation."
The message was brief and even Trutet didn't think much of it. But Elia had already shifted her thoughts to the matter.
"That will be all then, tell Lufair I shall discuss it with the council. You may leave." Eliza's response didn't seem to be of any use to Trutet, as he had expected her to provide a solution almost immediately.
He was about to speak again, his lips twitching, but he stopped himself, not wanting to overstep his bounds. "I will pass on the message then."
Trutet left reluctantly and his figure soon vanished behind a door. A moment later, another figure walked onto this isolated balcony.
"Lady Elia," A young looking Koliean female respectfully called out. Her attire was eye catching, perfectly accentuating her purple eyes and platinum blonde hair, hued with a bit a purple.
"Selha, our lesson doesn't begin until later, what do you seek?" Elia didn't turn her head and spoke with the same distant tone to Selha, the Koliean female Elia had left the mantle of Queen to when she left for Limbo, reunited once again following the destruction of that world.
Selha, unlike the guards, stood more freely in Elia's presence and even approached the edge of the balcony, choosing to stand beside the Matriach. "I overheard what the messenger had to say, this lone Koliean, it has to him, Aron. If it is then perhaps he is seeking the gate and to-"
"Calm your mind Selha, you will achieve nothing by jumping to conclusions so recklessly, I've taught you better than that." Elia interrupted and scolded, although her expression remained largely unchanged.
Selha lowered her head and didn't speak up, leading to Elia to add on, "Whether it is him or not matters little. What does matter is the fact that Rorthik has chosen to come out from his passive role, something he didn't do even for Harald, something must've changed, I'm only interested in knowing what that change is."
Hearing those words, Selha could only resign her initial thoughts and pass agreement, "I will follow your lead."
"No need, simply focus on rising above your competitors for the position of Queen, these other matters can be delt with soon enough. Right now, the council is blinded by ambition for power, if we do not bring it under control, we may fall victim to our own actions." Elia suddenly frowned and showed a very vexed expression, Selha could nothing but agree with a subtle nod, "I won't disappoint you."
…
Back at the aethelian settlement, Aron and Rorthik were in the midst of leaving the Neglardia.
Rorthik, although calm now, was still in state of anger regarding his deal with the Kolieans of the north in the Aethelians post-war generation.
As for Aron, he was content with the gains of their rather short trip, now possessing a better idea of not only the gates, but the potential they held.
He now wanted nothing more than to convene with his group, especially Rose, and learn what her thoughts on the matter would be.
Deducing a proper theory surrounding the knowledge he possessed so far wasn't going to be an easy task, hence his desire to include Rose's intellect.
The duo soon arrived at the palace where the celebrations were nearing their end. Most Aethelians had already left and much of the food was done.
Aron's group was gathered further ahead in private, having gained an invitation into Solair's private gardens, much to Lufair's displeasure.
Upon entering this botanical like gardens, Aron's group looked toward him, Jin even spotting a small smile, "they may not have alcohol, but they sure do have some delicious fruit." He praised, receiving a shy laugh for his politeness from Solair.
'Tsk, has she no shame? She even tries to charm outsiders!' Lufair angrily thought, completely in disagreement with many of the events that transpired recently.
Aron didn't move much from the entrance and spoke to his group, "It's time we leave, we've imposed on our hosts long enough."
Hearing this, Rorthik looked back at Aron with worry, "No, please friend, please stay, many places to rest, do not worry."
Rorthik's reluctance was within Aron's anticipation, after all, he too would be hesitant to let someone of use go.
But staying too long in an unfamiliar territory such as this with the threat of unknowns like mana demons, Aron was unwilling.
"I cannot risk the safety of my companions on words alone… friend. We still have much to uncover so I shall return soon, I hope you can understand my concerns," Aron insisted, his tone growing more impatient as if to send a point across.
'He means the gift, he must worry of its danger, dammit, too reckless, such bad luck.' Rorthik cursed inwardly but saw that he couldn't easily repair this situation, he had no choice but to back down.
"As you wish, please return soon, I will think long on hard on our discoveries, yes I must." Rorthik agreed with great reluctance.
Aron only nodded as his members stood up, Evanora even taking the initiative to carry a full basket of fruit with her on her head. "Evanora thinks the fruit isn't bad, but meat is still better, maybe the fruit needs fire."
Aside from Evanora, the others didn't exchange words with Aron. Jagu, Jin and Rose had come to understand him better and judging from his insistence on leaving, they became alert and wary.
The entire group soon left and giving silent goodbyes and only once outside the palace, did Jagu take the initiative to ask, "will we need to fight?"
As Jagu spoke, his ears stood upright and his nose sniffed the air for any oddities. Thankfully Aron shook his head.
"For now, no. But, judging from the way things are progressing, conflict is inevitable in the near future. We can only hope to be ready."
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