The royal house of Nekaris, known for their sorcery, had ascended to power following the downfall of the royal house of Alevior. King Altair, the first monarch of the Nekaris family, gained prominence due to his ability to summon rain. This unique skill proved instrumental in ending a widespread cholera outbreak and earned him the support of the people of Zahdi.

- The History of the Three Kingdoms

After Nia had regained most of her strength, she and Khiran started making their way toward the capital of Zahdi. Despite being rich merchants, Danif’s family didn’t exactly have reliable connections to nobles, and they were also afraid to use those connections lest the nobles betrayed them and leaked out news of Nia’s presence in Zahdi.

This meant that Nia had to find a way to contact the king of Zahdi herself without relying on others. The Odessi family helped Nia prepare as much as they could. Danif’s dad managed to find a passing caravan that was heading for Zahdi’s capital, securing Nia and Khiran a ride.

Nia was relieved because she had very little experience traveling on her own before. Even Khiran was unfamiliar with reading a map. When he and the other captives escaped from the Caverns of Labyrinth, it was mostly Danif who helped them find the way to the capital of Saraja since he had traveled there with his family not too long ago. On top of that, the landscape of Zahdi was too different from the landscape of Saraja.

As the main training hub of the three kingdoms, Saraja had more roads, and better ones at that. Most people in Saraja lived close to an oasis. Their maps were better, and the location of each oasis were carefully recorded because getting lost in the deserts was a guaranteed death sentence.

In comparison, because it’s easier to survive in the wild in Zahdi and traveling wasn’t as perilous, the maps are looser in terms of accuracy. Most Zahdian people are nomadic, so most of the locations on the map aren’t stationary. Also, because the Zahdians travel so much, they also knew the land well enough not to rely on maps. Only outsiders get lost in Zahdi.

Knowing this, the Odessi family was kind enough to secure a ride for Nia. At first, Nia was a little nervous being around new strangers, but the caravan members treated the two with respect and distance until they gradually opened up to one another over the course of the trip.

Nia knew the climate of Zahdi was cooler than the climate of Saraja, but it still took her by surprise. She had also never seen so much grass in her life. Prairies and grasslands make up most of Zahdi, and there was a sea of grass everywhere she turned. She wondered how the nomads don’t get lost every time they travel.

“It’s the stars.” One of the caravan members laughed at her when she asked. “You need to follow the stars.”

Nia squinted at the sky, but the stars were just as confusing as the land.

Sometimes, the caravan she and Khiran were traveling with came across other caravans, but instead of carrying traveling merchants, they were carrying nomadic families with large herds of animals.

The caravan members she was traveling with explained to her that the people of Zahdi relied on herding animals like goats, cows, and more. To avoid predators and depleting the herd’s food source, the Zahdians are constantly on the move. Only certain families can afford to settle down. Farmers, merchants, and nobles. 

Nia was surprised to learn that there are fewer farmers in Zahdi than Saraja. Even though Saraja is a desert kingdom, its numerous oases made it more possible for farming than Zahdi, due to Zahdi’s nutrient-deficient soil.

Another fascinating thing Nia saw were tiny bugs that glowed glow at night. The locals called them fireflies, which was a misnomer because the light had nothing to do with fire in any way. Still, they were as bright as a spark and seeing hundreds of them fly over the grasslands reminded her of the starry night sky.

It took a month to reach the capital of Zahdi. Over that one month, Nia expected herself to lose her nerves and become more anxious as they approached the capital, but she didn’t. Instead, she became more focused and determined. Despite being a runaway princess with no influence or power, she had never felt so decisive in her life. 

Everything that had occurred since the night she lost her family had been out of her control, but now, she is taking control of her life back. Instead of reacting to everything, she is taking the initiative to act first instead. Seeking an alliance with the king of Zahdi was her first step. This is the best way to stop Roshana’s rampage upon the three kingdoms.

But this step is not one without risks. In the worst case scenario, the royal house of Nekaris might capture her and hold her as a political prisoner, assuming they don’t mistake her for an impostor and kill her at first sight.

After traveling across the sea of grass for many days, the caravan finally reached the capital of Zahdi. As one of the few permanent settlements in Zahdi, the city was bustling with people and business.

Nia and Khiran parted ways with their traveling friends as soon as they arrived. But now, they face a new problem—they are unable to reach King Altair.

Nia wants to have a private audience with King Altair so she can secretly ask for asylum from him without news of her presence leaking out among Zahdi. However, without connections, it was near impossible for a commoner with unknown background to meet with the king. It was even harder for a foreigner like her.

To make matters worse, the Zahdians must have heard the rumors about the possibility of Saraja declaring war on them because Nia could see the Zahdians treating anyone who looked Sarajan with a note of hostility. 

Unfortunately for Nia, that also included her and Khiran. Khiran’s hair had turned completely white again, the cheap dye wearing off, so they both wore hoods to avoid attracting attention. However, the Zahdians could still tell they were Sarajans by the color of their skin, which were darker than them.

“How do I engineer a meeting with the king?” Nia pondered aloud as she and Khiran tried to figure out a plan over a meal in a Zahdian restaurant. Nia subconsciously avoided stew again.

“What do we know about him?” Khiran asked.

That was a good question. 

King Altair was the first king of the Nekaris dynasty. The Nekaris family used to be a noble family of average status, save for one significant detail—they were sorcerers. When they came of age, they underwent a complex ritual to manifest a magical power, but in exchange, they had to remove half of their souls. The half that was removed took on the physical form of an animal, becoming known as their spirit animal.

Altair Nekaris’s power was summoning rain. In fact, that ability was how he came into power. In the year 495 A.K., there was a large cholera outbreak among places that rely on the Niava River as a drinking source. The royal house of Alevior, which had ruled Zahdi for almost five centuries, was almost completely wiped out by the cholera outbreak.

It was Altair who saved Zahdi with his rain-summoning ability. With another reliable source of drinking water, the Zahdians were able to recover. Altair took advantage of the power vacuum and became the new king of Zahdi, then he married the last member of the Alevior family, Leriana Alevior, to strengthen his claim to the throne.

Nia remembered that time period. She remembered all the commotions a few years back when the Nekaris family became the ruling house of Zahdi. There was so much diplomatic work to be done as a result of the change that she hadn’t been able to see Vivian for days. It was such a rare event… and Nia wasn’t even bothered by it because she didn’t care for politics.

Nia wished she could smack her younger self in the forehead.

Since his reign and dynasty started so recently, there wasn’t much information on him, so Nia didn’t have anything else to help with a plan.

“Wait, what was his spirit animal again?” Khiran asked.

“A hawk, I believe.” Nia replied glumly. “Do you think it behaves like a real hawk, or is it a hawk with the intelligence of a human?”

Khiran shrugged. “How would I know? I’ve never been to Zahdi before.”

Nia frowned. “Did you live in Saraja your whole life?”

“Did you think I was raised in the demon realm or something?”

“Of course, I did. What about your parents? How did they meet? I can’t believe there are demons living their whole lives in the human world like that.”

Khiran made a face. “What’s so strange about that?”

“It’s just… uncommon.”

Khiran thought for a moment. “My parents just met by chance, they told me. I don’t know where they met nor how they met. Do your parents tell you about such things?”

“...No.” Nia replied. From the rumors she heard, her mother was an ambitious woman who wanted to be more than just the matriarch of the Lunare family, so she secured a political match with her father, who was just the crown prince at the time.

“Well, either way, they met and fell in love and my father moved to the human realm for her. I grew up in a small village in Saraja with them until my father passed away, then my mother and I moved to the capital so she can find a stable job to provide for me.”

Nia raised an eyebrow. “That sounds like a decent childhood. How did that end up with you becoming a street thief?”

Khiran had the grace to look a little embarrassed. “At first, I was just acting out after my father died. Then I realized I had the talent for it and made it into a profitable hobby.”

Nia bursted out laughing. “That’s ridiculous.”

“That’s not a normal reaction to someone’s confession of being a thief.” Khiran couldn’t help but crack a grin as well. 

“Wait.” Nia grew serious again. “I just thought of something.”

“What?”

“What if we can get a message to King Altair through his spirit animal?” Nia asked. “It’s connected to him, right? If I find a way to get the spirit animal’s attention, do you think it will alert King Altair of our presence?

Khiran was quiet for a moment as he considered her idea. “That’s not a bad idea. Probably less problematic than breaking into the palace.”

Nia nodded in agreement. “More diplomatic too.”

“Do you plan to catch it or something? Like, with a trap or a net? Or do we go to the roof of a building and wave a sign at every single hawk that flies by?”

“No.” Nia’s eyes were practically dancing with confidence. “We attach a message to a bait and lure the hawk with it.”