Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

When Therentil made the comment about moving up the mountain, Jade found her eyes finally pulled to the very mountain he referred to. At first she had not seen it because of her intense focus on the abundance of light crystals in all the homes.

Not only that, they were currently in the shadow of the mountain and there was no sunlight to illuminate it. Looking forward, she noticed the peaks stretch high above the clouds. She could make out lights of the upper layers of the city twinkling as the city wound itself around and up the mountain.

Jade could also make out massive walls in various intervals up the side of the mountain. Those were likely the gates that separated the various tiers of the city. According to what she had been told, the palace took up the entirety of the peak. It was currently out of sight due to the clouds.

"Impressive, is it not?" Therentil bragged. "That is the sacred mountain of Aetherous. So named for the legendary S-Rank beast that sleeps in its depths."

Those words caught Lucius's attention. "S-Rank beast? Like the Fenrir in the Petra domain?"

"Yes, though Aetherous is an ancient golem made of mithril. They say his immense magic power is what causes the magical crystals we rely on to grow. His power spreads throughout the mountain and crystalizes into clusters, and that is what we harvest." Therentil explained.

Were that the truth, it was rather impressive. It was like the creature, Aetherous, had a beneficial relationship with the elves. They guarded its home and it gave them access to an infinite supply of magic crystals. The very same crystals that made the country a technological powerhouse on the whole of the continent.

"It's so wonderful that you live in harmony with such an impressive-sounding beast!" Jade praised.

Therentil responded with laughter. "As if that would be the case. Aetherous simply slumbers, and we do our best not to disturb him. That is why at the lower levels of the mountain, you will not find any mines. He sleeps deeply beneath it and we only mine at the second tier of the city or higher."

"Interesting nonetheless," Lucius responded.

"Quite. Though, if you could, might you inform me of this Fenrir? I've heard tales of it, but do you know much else?"

"Not much to tell. Its home is in the heart of the forest in the lands belonging to House Petra. It simply slumbers there, waking occasionally to feast upon the monsters within the forest."

"Does this forest have a name?"

"None dare give it one. The forest belongs to Fenrir. To name something is to impart some idea of ownership, and no one was stupid enough to try." Lucius smiled ruefully and his eyes became distant, as if remembering one.

"Sounds terrifying. To think such a beast would care so much. No one is worried about such a thing here. However, it is said that our queen was the one who named the mountain and learned the name of the monster that sleeps beneath. She does not speak of it, though, so we do not know for sure."

For a short while longer, Therentil and Lucius continued to discuss the discrepancies in how their two cultures treated these legendary monsters beyond mortal comprehension. Desmond joined in when discussing the Leviathan that lived off the coast of Keinydd.

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Students at the academy there often claimed that sighting Leviathan while attending was a sign of good fortune and that your life was destined for greatness.

Of course, these were just rumors. Leviathan had not been spotted by anyone in nearly a century. However, everyone could feel its watchful gaze from beneath the treacherous waves on occasion. It often felt like you were being devoured.

Jade had experienced this once before when she was practicing with her mark in secret. She took it to mean that Leviathan was unhappy with her exercising authority over its domain, so she eventually stopped practicing for a while there. Over time, the occasional gaze from the sea stopped, and she was able to rest peacefully again.

Something inside her told her not to mention this to the men sharing their stories. It felt as though this experience was for her alone. Even Desmond was unaware of her experience.

A short while later, they stopped outside the gate leading up to the next tier of the city. Behind the gate she could see a walking path that wound slowly up the mountain. However, that did not appear to be the main way to ascend the mountain.

Rather there were these strange metal objects that ran parallel up the side of the mountain. Near the top she saw yet another metal construction that appeared to be completely flat and surrounded by railings and glowing red lights.

Therentil called it a 'lift' and claimed that it was a magically powered construct that would take people up to the next tier of the city. These 'lifts' existed between each of the seven tiers, with the final one being to the palace. In the event of failure, there were physical pathways to walk between levels.

However, using those paths without permission from the city was a crime punishable by a decade of jail time.

Jade and her friends had never heard of such a contraption before. Many people spoke of the impressiveness of the elven nation of Aedrider, but no one could explain in detail what that meant. Finally, they understood why.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

How could they hope to describe such a strange contraption? They also used this… thing for everyday usage. If something like this was used commonly by its citizens, then what else did the country hold for them?

Jade's mind suddenly turned towards the darker side after the amazement started to settle. Since they had the knowledge to supply all these light crystals to even the most basic of their citizens and create these giant lifts to move up and down the mountain, what else have they created aside from that.

She was familiar with the explosive crystals that Lucius had used in the past. He explained in depth how he used them at Alvora. She also witnessed the magical broadcasts of the Exhibition Tournament throughout Arcadios's capital. If Aedrider was willing to part with those, what resources and technology did they not want to part with or expose?

Jade found herself looking at the beautiful city in a slightly new light. There was no telling what dark secrets awaited them in this place, and she wondered if Lucius was truly equipped to handle them.