Valerian, The Legendary

96 Departure.

Valerian and Azula were admitted inside the study behind Fragrantia. Inside the atmosphere was dull and depressing. The Empress asked, “What is going on here?”

Alm replied, “Duke Vulcan has sent news. There is a beast tide at the border of the Tenax City and the soldiers are unable to hold the lines.”

His words startled the empress. She asked, “What do you mean unable to hold the lines? Are the soldiers of Tenax so weak that a beast tide is making them falter? Have they not faced such tides in the past?”

She was really calling people out at this moment, Alm shook his head and said, “Your Excellency, this time the Tenax city is facing a group of magical beasts. The situation is very tricky and the beasts are using desperate measures to cause mutual destruction.”

The prime minister stated the facts and the people all became calm and thoughtful. Suddenly Valerian said, “The magical beasts leading the ferocious beasts to fight is not something that occurs naturally, it must be a black hand in the shadows to mess things up.”

The people understood what Valerian was implying here. Libra said in a deep voice, “The Tenax City is the first line of defense at the Stella Empire border. It is very possible for them to create trouble for us. We should send a team to investigate the depth of the matter.”

The Emperor has spoken and the others also understand this. After all, there was a profession among the gifted people, the beast tamers. This was not an ability like that of the mages and the warriors, but it was an ability that was cultivated with great effort and time.

The beast tamers would slowly train beasts and domesticate them, as they grew proficient, they would tame magical beasts. Valerian had also stated that Magical beasts never socialized with the normal beasts. The society of the animals was completely different from that of humans.

A magical beast with a higher grade will be indifferent to the lower-level beasts, and the high-level beast will even feed on the lower-level one, unlike the humans.

.....

Libra said, “Vertex, you will go to the front line to investigate the situation with your strongest blood guards. Ignis, you will take a tour of the other two border cities to make sure that things are not chaotic over there, you will take your own forces with you.”

The two princes nodded and accepted the decree with grace. The Emperor continued speaking, “Azula, your task is to gather information from the merchant and caravans. Try to see if there is any suspicious activity inside our own empire. The shadows have their hands full with the tasks from before.”

The princess nodded and understood that her father wanted more than one group to gather information, after all, if all the eggs were to be placed in one basket, it will not prove beneficial. The Empress did not say a word, because she agreed with this thought process.

The prime minister looked at the young boy standing beside the princess, without a word. He said, “Your Excellency, young prince Valerian is also strong enough. Given that today a lot of officials and nobles were raising questions, I think it will be a good idea to have him accompany Prince Vertex and gain merit.”

The suggestion was sudden and it came as a surprise to the people. Fragrantia was thinking about whether the prime minister had any motive in this, but when she did not find anything, she said, “I support the prime minister. Val, what do you think?”

Valerian thought for a bit and asked, “How long will it take to come back, Old Man Fallax is not kind to those who skip lessons.”

This was a genuine reason he stated and also a fleeced warning, that if he did not come back soon enough or if he suffered harm, then they will have to face a Magnus Magister. Everyone in the room understood this but they could only smile bitterly.

Libra was startled but then he thought, at least, this time it was better than him destroying some furniture and threatening the death of civilians. However, even though he was adopted into the family, this degree of unease was shameful for them.

The Emperor said, “You can use the Imperial mount. The Flame Sparrow is the fastest flying mount we have, it will take you to Tenax City in the duration of two days, you can look into things at your own pace, but if you do not find anything helpful, you can come back at any time, and no one will stop you.”

Valerian nodded and said, “I will pack up some things.”

That said, he bowed his head to the people and left the study. When the door was closed the people began to discuss why Valerian was still distrustful of them, and Fragrantia just gave them an excuse before she left the room to find Valerian and check his luggage.

More than his luggage she wanted to check on Fortuna. When she reached the room, she had a maid push along a trolley of food. Young Dragons ate more than anyone could imagine.

She pushed open the door and dismissed the maid, before pulling in the cart behind her. Valerian was changing his clothes when she stepped inside. He had put on his dark silver shirt, pant, and tunic with black boots.

She looked at him before her gaze fell on a sleeping figure on the bed. Fortuna was as big as a pup and she looked very delicate. Valerian said, “She will wake up in a few moments. She has been sleeping all morning.”

Fragrantia nodded and said, “I have brought food for her, and for you, I have asked Azula to pick up a book and a leather sack from the library.”

Valerian nodded and the lady continued, “I know that you are aware, but try not to use too many attributes. Also, do not trust everyone in the Tenax military. The knife raised behind our backs is not something that we can see. Understood?”

She was warning him of the potential traitors in the military there. However, Valerian was already aware of it. He nodded, and Fragrantia caressed his head gently. She said, “Vertex will be there to look after you, if there is something that you cannot figure out, or you encounter any trouble, do not hesitate in asking for his hand.”

Valerian nodded and asked, “What if he denied to help me?”

Fragrantia narrowed her eyes and said, “I will break his butt to pieces when he gets back.”

...

Valerian stood in the western wing of the palace with Vertex and the rest of the family. Suddenly, Azula came rushing over with a leather sack and a short sword encased in an engraved sheathe. She handed over the two things to Valerian and said, “This sword is a gift from me, Priscilla, Consano, and Conixia. It is a magic sword, the attribute of wind and earth can be channeled with complete ease.”

Valerian bowed to her slightly and said, “Thank you.”

Azula patted his back and said, “Go, win glory.”

Under the watchful eyes of the family, Vertex and Valerian jumped up to the back of the sparrow that could shame an elephant in size. The beast was driven by a trained soldier. Under the commands of this soldier, the huge bird took off.

Quies and another group of guards followed them on slightly slower flying mounts. Valerian enjoyed the sensation of wind against his face and his fluttering hair for a few minutes. He looked down at the size and found that the imperial city looked like nothing more than a carved piece of marble on the ground.

He was really fascinated by this. Vertex looked at him and said, “I can feel your thoughts at the moment. I also found how something so magnificent can look so puny when I took the sky route for the first time.”

Valerian looked at the second prince and nodded. Then he began to read the book carried in his leather sack. The title was ‘Behavior recording of a newborn dragon.’

Fortuna was left behind for Fragrantia to deal with. The bloodline pressure of a dragon was so high that if he was to carry her along, this sparrow would have died from fright only.

Vertex asked, “Azula told me that you like to read a lot. Looking at the title, I feel that you really do.”

He was trying to get easy with Valerian, they have had some trouble in the past, but now that they are dispatched together, he wanted for them to have a good understanding, to be able to work together.

Valerian asked him in a curious and calm manner, “Have you ever seen a dragon before, your highness?”

The second prince was surprised and shook his head. Valerian said, “The day you see one, will be the day you understand why I am so curious about them.”

Vertex asked, “Have you seen one before?”, in surprise.

Valerian replied with a faint smile, “In my dream, Yes.”

The journey of the two people had begun.