女神归来的夏天

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~~~(POV: Cera Adamo)~~~

~~~(Location: The Jungles of Nae\'mor, The City of Armezix, The Continent of Alforza)~~~

~~~(Time: 4:12 PM)~~~

The last two days of travel haven\'t been what I\'d call eventful or interesting. But the good news is we\'re about 14 hours away on foot from the capital. That\'s less than a day. As much as I\'d love to travel through the night, Jaeemara and Sally have their hearts set on soft beds.

I\'m inclined to agree with them. I\'m not physically sore, but going through so many different districts and learning so much is making me tired. Over the course of the past two days, I\'ve only gotten a combined six hours of sleep.

My thoughts about everything I learned from Jaeemara run through my head in the deep hours of the night. It\'s a bad habit of someone that\'s got insomnia.

"The capital is the most guarded part of Armezix. When we reach the perimeter, I\'ll have to pull some of my Father\'s clout to get us in."

If Jaeemara can\'t get us in, I can do the whole name-dropping thing. But I\'d prefer it if I didn\'t have to. I\'ve noticed that the closer we\'ve gotten to the capital, the richer the districts have become. As well as security.

It makes sense, given the capital is the original city, and everything else was built after it. The cities are older when you make it this far in. It\'s also one of the hardest to reach, I\'ve found out.

By foot, that is. We could\'ve taken an Airship, or I could\'ve flown them on my back. That would\'ve gotten in the way of learning everything I learned.

"How hard is it for ordinary Dark Elves to get into the capital? You make it sound like it\'s a district that\'s only open to the wealthy and noble. I\'ve heard of areas inside certain cities around Gaia. Even experienced them, but an entire capital for the elite..."

Sally would talk about this. There are minor grudges she holds when it comes to nobility. I hold my own, but for different reasons. She doesn\'t like them because they invest and run illegal businesses. I don\'t like them because they\'re asshats.

"Sadly, that\'s the best way to describe the capital. My Father and the rest of my family don\'t live there because it\'s filled with our enemies. The people he\'s beaten in business and profits."

Interesting... One of the most influential people in all of Armezix isn\'t living with the people of his class... Okay, that\'s actually not interesting. I do find it humorous, though.

Burning bridges turns out to have more effects if you\'re that powerful. I didn\'t think I\'d see it in person.

"Why haven\'t I heard about any rebellions and factions opposing the current society of The Dark Elves? Most Kingdoms and races have people in them that want something different. And they\'d fight for it, do such forces not exist here other than the gangs."

Gangs are different than, say, a fanatical group of people wanting to break free from isolation and join the rest of the world. Or perhaps a rogue militia following the orders of a Dark One to bring ruin to Armezix.

"Because the crown does an amazing job policing and suppressing those factions and groups. They exist in Armezix, but they\'ve taken to guerilla warfare to get things done. They\'d never accomplish anything, but the most noticeable ones are the Dark Elves Of Pride Faction."

I doubt that means what it would mean on Earth. The concept of Rainbow Pride doesn\'t exist on Gaia. You\'ll either be executed or excommunicated if you\'re caught doing that in this world.

But this is another world, after all. Things are bound to be different.

"Mind explaining a little more in detail?"

Dark Elves of Pride... I\'m guessing it\'s about superiority and, well, pride.

"For short, it\'s called DEP. They fight against the crown in hopes that Dark Elves join the greater world and rule it at the top. Not a lot of people agree with their ideals, but the ones that do will do anything for it."

Sounds like a magical world terrorist group.

"Where do you think they\'re at now?"

I\'m so preoccupied with my thoughts I almost miss Sally\'s question, but since it\'s a good one, I tune back in and wait for Jaeemara to answer.

"It\'s hard to say. Only top officials in Dark Elf society know more than that about them. It\'s hard to learn anything about the DEP. Given their tactics and fanaticism."

Right, guerilla warfare.

It\'s one of the best ways to wage a war. People did it on Earth before they had a name for it. Gaia wouldn\'t be any different in advancement in the art of warfare.

"There is something a little off-topic from this that I\'d like to ask."

It\'s not about the DEP, but it\'s about what they\'re fighting against. The crown. Jaeemara has explained a lot about Dark Elf society. But she hasn\'t spoken much about the rulers.

"Ask away."

I hope asking this isn\'t crossing the line. In the 20th and 21st centuries of Earth, a country called the UK was ruled by a line of Kings and Queens. They treated their rulers with something akin to Godhood. Never speaking ill of them in public and giving them respect in every way possible.

"The DEP, the nobles, and the wealthy. All of them are tied to the crown, but you haven\'t spoken that much about the crown. Is it ruled by a family or a single individual? Line of succession, or anointed by majority vote?"

I don\'t know if I\'m overstepping any lines with these questions, but Jaeemara should know more than any ordinary person on the street, given who her family is. She\'s probably met them in the past.

"The crown is another name for the authority that governs Armezix. It\'s ruled by a Queen. Her name is Romana Zil Lukaerd Elen Roa. But most people call her Queen Elen or Queen Roa. She\'s been ruling Armezix for the last 14,000 years."

Wow. 14,000 years is a long time, and it\'s not something you\'d hear every day. If I do get a chance to speak with her, I\'d love to ask her about what she knows. Her knowledge of Gaia is probably 3 times greater than mine.

"She has a long line of descendants. More than I care to count and name. But the person that\'s supposed to inherit if she\'s ever to die is her son. Feldern Ail Lukeaerd Zae Teziel. Or Prince Zae, for short. Queen Roa has ruled on the throne longer than anyone else."

Those are the two most powerful people in all of Armezix. It\'s likely we\'ll speak to them at some point when in the capital.

"How receiving are they to other royalty? I don\'t like to acknowledge or even talk about it, but I\'m the Princess of their sister race. Does that hold any cause for concern?"

That\'s something I hadn\'t thought of... I\'m glad Sally did. There could be unseen problems.

"From what I know, the only royalty that\'s ever come to Armezix is the leaders of the Nomadic Orc Tribe when they come by. But I doubt anything hostile would come your way. Not with Angel Zern with you, anyway."

What she\'s saying subtly is that she doesn\'t know how the crown will react specifically to Sally. Since Jaeemara and Pazemad knew about our life together and our story so far, it\'s safe to assume the crown does too.

"I hope you\'ve brought money. Getting through districts beyond the one we\'re in will require a steep and heavy toll. It\'s one of the ways the wealthy stay that way."

Jaeemara suddenly changes the subject, and I don\'t miss that she\'s doing it cause she doesn\'t want to talk about the crown anymore. This is something that\'s actually interesting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Below this line, I\'ll be keeping Cera\'s player information. That way, I won\'t have to place it into the story above anymore. It takes about 180 words up.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.236][Tier-4]

[Exp: 72/100%]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden)]

[Stats] [Strength - 7095][Endurance - 7045][Dexterity - 7215][Speed - 8240][Focus - 19,660]

[Mana aura control: 6/100%]

[Health: 76,560,000,000/76,560,000,000] [Mana: 216,600,000,000/216,600,000,000]

[Stat Points: 440] [Armor rating: 500]

[Inventory] [Dice of Wayland (Divine)] [The Witness (Legendary Sword)] [Fenrir\'s Whistle (Divine)] [Camping gear] [Fishing poles 2x] [Festival Garbs 2x] [4x EXP Boosts] [Princess Saliandra\'s Panties (Black Lace)] [Desert Warrior Nomad Set (Rare)]

[Passive Perks]

[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]

[Active Skills]

[Heavens light Lvl.74 325/7400] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.74 225/7400] [Slash Lvl.92 4600/21000] [Parry Lvl.68 85/6800] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight] [Divine Pressure Exertion] [Divinity Pulse] [Controlled Fun] [Aspect of Transportation (Legendary)]