Two horses were being led along a road through a forest. Two women, one older but not that much taller than the other, lead them along with leashes. They periodically checked the surroundings, their eyes glowing with an inner light. Not long after they could make out a camp in the distance and marginally relaxed. They hurried along the path until they reached the edge of the encampment.
"Ah, Lady Aria, Lady Sana, it does good to see you safe!" a man exclaimed, standing up from the firepit. He was the leader of the caravan going from Cloud City to Kayu City. "I assume you joining us with those horses means the bandit camp has been raised and the bandits exterminated. I truly have to thank you again for coming with us. Without you we would have had to return empty-handed or maybe even joined our families in the heavens." he said, bowing toward them.
Sana's mother simply nodded and accepted the gratitude with a small smile. "They won't bother anyone anymore," she replied. "But enough about that, what about the wounded? Will they be able to travel the whole day tomorrow? I'd rather not have to rest right between two Beast Emperors." she said with a grimace.
"Nothing to worry there, they will rest on one of the carts during the trip. I don't think anyone wants to be here longer than they have to." he answered, an equal grimace appearing on his face. Both of them knew that with the disturbance the fight caused they could have provoked either of the emperors and they knew that should it come to a fight they would have no chance to fight back. Probably only Aria could flee in the face of a Beast Emperor, and only if it was sufficiently distracted.
Two of the drivers took the horses, unpacked them and led them to the others. Sana, her mother and the caravan leader sat around the fire and were given dinner, a bit worse using preserved meat than fresh but still better than the first few meals. As Sana looked around she notices the guards sending her mother almost fervent looks, different from the polite respect they showed at the beginning. None had ever seen a Martial King fight and the ease with which she dispatched 3 Martial Knights, not to mention all the Martial Scholars was awe-inspiring.
With surprise she also noticed most guards giving her respectful nods. Apparently her prowess in fighting managed to make them see her more as an equal than a young lady to protect. Many of the guards had bandages around their limbs and she could see two heavily bandaged ones lying in the tent closest to the fire, the slow up and down of their chests showing that they were still alive.
They quickly retired and returned to the road early the next day. Thankfully the journey the next day was peacefully with no sign of any spirit beasts. Still, the guards were extremely cautious while they were hurrying along the road definitely faster than the days before. Finally their tense shoulders slumped in relief but they still walked a while further to bring more distance between the Beast Emperors and the camp.
After two more days they approached an area where the trees were farther and farther spread apart and Sana could make out a wooden palisade and a low but wide wooden gate which was open. The sun, finally able to fully penetrate this lightly wooded part of the forest shone on four guards currently stationed around the gate. Their armours were strangely made out of a grey-black matte material which upon closer inspection she could identify as wood, the grain being a clear indicator. In fact, the only metal on their person appeared to be the tip of their spears which were fashioned out of the same wood as their armour.
They were quickly ushered through with only a cursory inspection and a surprised expression upon seeing her and her mother. Behind the wooden fortification Sana could see the familiar look of fields being worked on by some farmers, though the area was much smaller than the ones around her home city. This city was quite a bit smaller than Cloud City, though Clan Pokok, the longstanding and unchallenged owner of the city, was considerably richer than their neighbours.
Kayu City was a trade hub, connecting the dark and light sides of the region from the northern desert to the mountains in the south. It was located in the middle of the fastest trade routes connecting all the surrounding cities like her own. The biggest problem was unfortunately also it's position in the forest since many strong and predatory spirit beast roamed through it which consequently also fuelled the city's thriving hunting industry. Being the main exporter of spirit meat to the other clans meant that most of the meat in her meals she had eaten in the palace came from here. Of course only the major clans in any city could manage to buy something that had to come exclusively through caravan.
They approached the city gate and Sana saw that, like everything else, it and the walls themselves were made out of wood but this time coloured a stone grey, as if they used petrified logs to build them. The inspection at the main gate took quite a bit longer with the guards checking the carts and every person separately. Conspicuously, after a muffled discussion with the caravan leader, the guards simply bowed to her mother and let her and Sana through without protest. After the inspection her mother and the caravan leader gathered and discussed their work in the city.
"We already have sellers present in the city," the caravan leader began, "so we will bring our stock to their warehouses. Our wounded will be brought to the healers and we will need to refill the carts with prepared materials, which means we will most likely start our return journey the day after tomorrow. Maybe even a day after that depending on if any problems prop up."
Her mother simply nodded as if she expected that and said, "I expect we will be invited by Clan Pokok to stay in their palace, so simply send a messenger to inform us if we will be delayed. Otherwise we will wait at the gate in the morning of our departure." Her mother dismissed him with a nod and he bowed to both of them to take his leave. "Come, I've been here before, so I know the way to the city lords palace," her mother said looking back at her and starting down the street.
Sana followed while looking around at the foreign and at the same time very familiar surroundings. The buildings on either side were mainly constructed out of wood, like in her home city, but instead of stone foundations the walls almost seemed to be rooted in the ground which considering the emerging theme wouldn't surprise her at all.
Unlike in her city where the people were used to their presence, here people actively avoided the two strangers openly carrying weapons. The traffic naturally parted around them, allowing them to move unhindered. They soon arrived at a palace complex and were greeted at the entrance gate by an old woman and a young man. The young man had a wide smile on his face, looking at Aria and, though at first he looked surprised, his smile widened even more after looking at Sana. The old woman seemed exasperated at the man's antics.
Her mother bowed to the woman and Sana quickly followed. "Lady Pokok," she said and straightened up, nodding at the man, "and Lord Kelopak. It has been quite a long time since we last saw each other. Let me introduce my daughter Sana," she continued, presenting her to them. "It is her first time outside Cloud City."
"Lady Aria, young Lady Sana, let me welcome you to our city and invite you to stay in my home", Lady Pokok started in a raspy voice and turned to the now named Kelopak, "and let me introduce my grandson to Lady Sana. He is a very excitable person so please don't take offence. I'll let him show you to your courtyard. Excuse me." With those last few word she sighed looking at Kelopak who was almost shaking in place, shook her head and went back inside.
Immediately Kelopak spread his arms wide and engulfed Aria in a hug. To the wide eyed surprise of Sana her mother simply held her arms limply by her sides and endured. He let go spun in her direction and went to hug her instead but a tight grip on his shoulder courtesy of her mother stopped him. Sana thought she could almost hear the bones in his shoulder creak. The first time since meeting him his smile fell from his face and a pained grimace took it's place, though he didn't make a single sound. Her mother released his shoulder and patted him on the back, making him stumble towards the entrance to the building.
"So," her mother said with a forced smile on her face, "you'll show us to our place to stay."
Just as suddenly as it left his smile returned in full force and he exaggeratedly swept his hand towards the entrance, "After you two beautiful creatures." Her mother started walking, Sana following at her right, Kelopak at her left. "As soon as I heard you entered our beautiful city I, of course, immediately offered up my secondary courtyard right next to my own for you and your daughter," he started and stared intensely at Sana, making her a bit uncomfortable, "and I have to say that she is truly stunning. I would even go so far as to say it is a blessing simply to be allowed to look upon her." He actually shed a tear which he quickly wiped off.
Looking up at her mother incredulously, she saw her roll her eyes and look down apologetically. They continued down the hallway, Kelopak continuously ranting about their aesthetic beauty, until they arrived in a wide entrance hall with multiple wooden pillars. On the walls and the pillars were countless paintings of either a man, a woman or both standing on cliffsides, over the bodies of slain beasts or sitting in gardens or on boats floating in a lake. Though some of the pictures featured unknown people, the vast majority had a striking resemblance to her mother and father. And right in the centre of the room, opposite the entrance, on a free standing easel was a large painting of her parents embracing each other while leaning back and staring each other in the eyes.
She looked at the two adults to see her mother covering her eyes with a small blush on her face and, the now officially, very weird man looking at the painting sighing audibly. "Oh, how I wish Andus were here as well. Though maybe it is a good thing. If he were here as well I may die of happiness seeing you three together in one place," he said with a hand on his chest. "Just imagining it is making my heart want to leap out of my chest." He continued, with passion burning in his eyes, "You must let me make a painting of you two. Ah, mother and daughter both. Truly, how blessed I am."
"Don't you have somewhere else for us to go?" her mother asked with gritted teeth. Openly glaring at him, though her blush had not left her face. Kelopak started, shook his head and apologetically led them through the room into the courtyard proper. As soon as they were insider her mother all but threw him out though not before being made to promise to sit for a painting. Humming and skipping Kelopak left in an obviously fantastic mood. Sana stared at her mother with narrowed eyes which she tried to ignore but eventually sighed and pointed to a table in the corner of the yard.
They seated themselves and Aria began, "Your father and I met while we were... well adventuring in the dark side. I had just recently fled from my father and Andus was trying to find himself after leaving the clan leadership to his little brother. There we also met a teenage painter who was kidnapped from his home and escaped by himself. But instead of returning home he apparently picked a random direction and started walking to "find the ultimate expression of beauty" as he put it," she added with a sigh, her eyes staring at nothing. "We saved him from a spirit beast attack at an abandoned temple which he was trying to draw with charcoal on a dirty piece of linen."
They were interrupted by a maid knocking and asking if they wanted something to eat which, after affirming, was immediately brought to them. After the meal Aria continued, "Where was I? Ah yes! He was immensely grateful and wanted to pay us back but had no money on him so he decided to become our "personal painter" which basically translated to him following us around, eating our food and demanding us to pose for hours without moving in the most inconvenient locations. He became more and more obsessed about our "transcendent beauty" during our time together but when we decided to go to Cloud City he also decided to return home. And, as it turned out, he was the long missing grandson of the Lady Mother of Clan Pokok. That was certainly a surprise," she finished, her head tilted backwards, looking at the sky. "I actually kind of hoped he had gotten over his obsession but sadly it seems not."
"Wait, so... is he in love with you or father or... what?" Sana asked, confused and, honestly, a little bit scared of the actually crazy Kelopak.
"Honestly, I have no idea. Neither had your father," her mother said, sighing once again, definitely exasperated. "I think he just doesn't... feel or, well, think like we do. He doesn't seem to care about anything but what he considers beautiful. I mean, he is not callous but he definitely puts the things we consider important, like the life of people, below his own standards without exception. He isn't a bad person, simply a strange one," her mother finishes.
She didn't see her daughter frown in thought and look back to the door. Her mothers description made her think about her own thoughts which she had supressed until now. Maybe a talk with the obviously crazy man wouldn't be so bad.
