COS: Royal Rune

Four days had passed since his meeting with the Emperor and now it was time for him to leave the Royal Palace and Faust and head to the Northern Border of the Empire. Although his father had only given them four days to prepare they had finished it in two. There was not much he needed to do. He was still young and had not been delegated any important roles within the family and anything of importance was being done by his mother anyway. So getting ready was an easy affair.

All that he had to do was pack his clothes and give the Emperor a formal goodbye in front of the family. Both things were easy enough and simply done. His departure to Deepblue had set off a wave of gossip around the castle, his mother had informed him, with many of his siblings mother being upset at the favoritism; he was sure that once they saw the price he incurred they would turn ecstatic.

Although he was sure he would pay back the debt eventually, he had taken himself out of the running for at least the next ten years. Along with his disappearance he gave them plenty of time to gain a head start over him in terms of resources and politics. He considered it worth the loss, the benefits he would gain from studying under the most powerful mage of the plane would far outweigh the negatives; not to mention the connections he could gain from the other powerful mages that lived there.

Currently, he was standing with his mother and a few knights, in the bowels of the palace as they waited for the Portalist mages to finish settting up the teleportation circle. Normally teleporting people out of Faust was a big no-no, the magic of the city itself did not allow it. But one of his ancestors had gained a particularly useful blessing from the Eternal Dragon that allowed his family and only his family to do so. It was quite nifty and it would allow him to leave to the Deepblue in a relatively easy manner. The only issue was this was also coming out of his pocket, adding another one thousand points to his debt.

He did not really care, it was minimal amount compared to what he owed, but Emperor Phillip's stinginess did irk him some. They had been waiting in silence for around ten minutes as they Portalist ensured that both side were safe and would not kill them or send them to a random location.

His mother no longer her normal lounge dresses, she now wore a legendary grade ice blue plate armor and it looked as deadly as she was. She looked more like his guardian than his mother, the only thing that differentiated her how much close to him she was compared to the other knights around them. She was currently fidgeting with the pommel of her sheathed sword and the worry was clear on her face.

He looked up at her and gave her a reassuring smile "Mother don't worry, I will be okay"

She looked down at him and returned the smiled though it was still tense, "I know my son, I just worry for you. You will be gone from all you know and in an unfamiliar environment all by yourself." she sighed "I wish your father would've waited until you were older."

"I am sure the Emperor has his reasoning for agreeing" he said, though he too didn't know why the Emperor sent him so soon. He expected to have to wait a few years. He was happy he didn't have too, but it still did surprise him.

His mother did not reply only smiling down at him. They stood in comfortable silence until one of the Head Portalist informed them that it was safe to travel through. His mother nodded her head and motioned to the guards who flanked around them and they made their way through the portal.

Passing through the portal was much simpler than he imagined. He had expected to feel some type of uncomfortableness in his stomach, or something of the like, but there was none. Only a slightly cool sensation and then he felt cold and saw light.

He covered his eyes until they adjusted to the light, when he reopened them he was amazed. They stood a few feet from the edge of a cliff overlooking everything. The first thing he noticed was blue tower that reached into the heavens. The Deepblue. The northern citadel of the Sacred Alliance Empire. It was stark against the landscape around it; a bustling city filled with the contains of everyday life. Everything in the city looked noticeably small in the shadow of the tower.

Two great rivers ran through the city, splitting it into three distinct section, with the tower being centered in the middle of them. The Center land seemed to be fully devoted to the Deepblue as all of the subsidiary complexes seemed to be made from the same material as the center tower. It looked as if it was a city within a city.

To the South of the city was the famous Floe Bay, its clear blue waters that were almost translucent was dotted with innumerable large and small icebergs, that made it hard for even seasoned sailors to get through. But even still the port that lined the southern coast was almost filled to capacity as people form all over the Human continent came to visit the city and partake in its unique goods.

To the West a large, dense, coniferous forest that stretched as far as the eye could see, he had heard that the forest was littered with deadly beast that Sharon used to ward of any petty advances from any who thought themselves clever. From what he had heard there were several beast at the level of Sky Saint.

They were east of the city on one of the smaller sea cliffs that lined the area. To his left and right he could see the Majestic Everwinter Mountians up close. Towering mountains that rose even higher than the Deepblue, that separated the Dwarfs and Orcs from the Sacred Alliance.

He did not know how long that he stood and looked out in wonder. The site of the tower and the scenery moving him incredibly. This was his first time seeing the world, for his whole life he had been sequestered in the Palace. He did not mind it, the palace was incredibly large and he still felt like there was more to explore, but it did not change the fact that he felt stuck there.

It was hard for him, as a person who had some type of understanding how big this universe was and how much cool shit was out there, to just stay in one place for years on end. To see something like the Deepblue to see what magic and strength could accomplish made him excited and motivate to reach such heights. To build works of grandeur like this, to leave a lasting impact in more than just his name and talents but in the physical world too. It really opened his eyes to what was possible.

"You will have plenty of time to stare in the future, for now let us be on out way." his mother said as she patted his shoulder and walked away.

He nodded his head and followed. They did not have to walk far, as mounts had been prepared for them days in advance. He did not know how to ride a horse, but was given a quick rundown by his mother. After some struggling he figured it out and they were on their way. As they rode he felt the horse under him, it felt powerful. Like there was a well of untapped energy just waiting to be used at a moments notice.

The journey into the city was easy enough, they were stopped briefly by the guards, but were quickly allowed to pass through when it was made clear who they were. An extra set of guards were given to them as they entered. While they moved through the city he took it in in all its glory. The people seemed happy and looked too be full of health. Outside of that there was not much that stood out to him. There was no common use of magic like he thought there would be nor the chaos he expected. Bar from the fact that people held weapons openly and the building were less advance, it felt similar to the cities he remembered from his past life.

That didn't mean he didn't enjoy himself. No, it was quite the opposite, he loved every second of it. The busyness of the city along with the movement settled his hearts. It was the first time he felt like he was back in his old world and he felt comfortable. This was normal to him, not the stuffy palace.

They were stopped again as they approached the bridge to the Deepblue complex. A guide was given to them who was to escort them to Sharon's throne room. The Complex of the Deepblue was starkly different from the rest of the city. Outside of the blueness of its buildings, there was a far more severe atmosphere in the area. Everyone he saw moving around felt like they were moving with purpose and intention. They all seemed busy, focused on something.

There were the occasional kids, students of the school who were not Sharon's apprentices, who were more relaxed. Though, even they had an air of scholarliness that betrayed their young appearances. With this though, there was not a feeling of oppression or stiffness to it. Even with their purposeful gazes the people did not seem downtrodden or stressed, at least not excessively so . It seemed to just be the type of environment that was fostered here. Which was funny to him given what he knew of the Master of this place.

They were not given a tour of the facility so everything that he was able to see was mostly foreign to him. The few buildings he could make out were the ones that were obvious, mass sleeping quarters, taverns and a hospital. The other buildings were a toss up for him. He was almost certain they were either for military or research purposes but, he could not be sure.

They soon made it into the Tower proper and where greeted with the blue crystal throne room of Sharon. The blonde, short woman sat on her throne with a bored expression as she watched them walk in. She was unearthly beautiful, easily the most beautiful woman he had seen in any of his lives. Had he not known how old she truly was, he would think her no older than 24 years of age. But she was far older and given her species, she would live a *lot* longer.

Even knowing all this it felt impossible for him to pull his eyes away. He didn't feel any attraction, it was the same feeling one would get when looking at a painting that struck them. A feeling of profound fascination.

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