In their search for an airship, the pair had a chance encounter with Leonard Lightfell, a general in the Caladrian Royal Army. He had come to Argent after hearing of their heroic deeds in the floating island of Ferro, wishing to personally thank them for slaying the abomination they had encountered in the Coperna Mines.
But the man's visit was beyond merely a display of courtesy on behalf of his kingdom; he sought them out to recruit them for the kingdom's upcoming assault on Fjalar, the Valkyrian fortress on the isolated continent of Titania. War had been coming to a head between the two nations, and the skirmishes began transpiring more frequently on the soil of northern Aurum, where Caladria was located. Now the Kingdom wanted to take the fight to the Valkyries and put a swift, decisive end to their nations' historical animosity once and for all. He believed that extra help from mercenaries and adventurers would bolster their strength, as it once had several centuries past, when the entire Aethersphere rallied up against the Queendom during their imperial campaign of conquest across the skies.
In return for their service, Leonard offered the opportunity for them to be granted an airship upon war's end. Beyond the fleet under the Kingdom's employ, finding anyone manufacturing airships outside of Argent was rare... If not unaffordable by what few sparks they held. It wasn't as if they had a lot of options, though Zephyr had told the knight that they would take the time to think on his offer, which he agreed.
As Leonard turned to leave, however, he made one final request... A duel to prove one's mettle in combat. He was curious to discover the strength behind the saviors of Ferro, which would perhaps have been wiped off the face of the map by now were it not for their intervention.
"Well, Eth," Zephyr starts as she gives her shorter companion a smack on his upper back, "Guess you're up."
"What!?" Etherei staggered from the force of her hand, but quickly regained his balance. "Wait, why me!? Shouldn't it be you? Out of the two of us, you're stronger than I am!"
"It could be, but the man's offered the challenge to you, not me. Would be wrong of me to take it in your stead."
"Full glad am I to know you've the honor to match your strength, Lady Zephyr." The Caladrian general turned his gaze onto the rattled Etherei. "And to you, Sir Etherei. I once again entreat you to a demonstration of your combat prowess."
Backed into a corner, Etherei once again looked pleadingly at Zephyr for help. But she simply gave him a thumbs up in solidarity.
For the first time since coming to the Aether, he was on his own...
---
A quick little story involving my two OCs, Etherei and Zephyr. I ended up writing a much longer story than I expected originally, so much that I had to cut so much of it off and replace it with something more succinct to read. I also really wanted to move on from this so I had to take what wasn't necessary and save it on a separate file. 😅
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