Mirini, Miryudōra, Ryudō -ShanGriLa 4 Galdary 48R7X

After three and a half years of sea travel, as well as another six months of traditional Miryudōran etiquette, I was shaping up to be a prim and proper princess. Father and Mother both agreed that I would take up permanent residence in Miryudōra; it wouldn't seem right for the future Empress to live in a completely separate nation from her people.

I didn't mind though, the culture here was deep and I found myself fitting in as if I've lived there for years. Everyone in the empire adored me and at first it was unsettling, but I soon realized that the dragon folk here hadn't seen a princess, let alone an Empress in well over several thousand eons. So, with that in mind, I had an easier time adjusting.

While I trained in the palace's dojo, I would often see the Royal Guard observing me. The guard consisted of four members and their respective parties. There was Sir Robfynn and his band of Merry Men, Sir Hanzo and the Jade Shadows, Lady Neith, and the Whistling arrows, and finally Lady Katsuyu and her band of Battle Medics.

Each of these royal guard members were rumored to be able to shake mountains, and I had to be trained by them. I would have to spend the next fifty years or so learning all their secrets and tricks. I was most excited to learn from Sir Hanzo and Lady Neith; out of the four guards, their specialties, stealth, and long-range ambushing, were right up my alley.

The combat training was intense work; Sir Hanzo oversaw all my stealth training. Ayo also joined; it turned out that she was still being groomed to become commander of the Imperial Guard. Uncle Aether, rather, Prime Minster Aether, Ayo's adoptive father, saw promise in her ability to inspire those around her. Because of this, he made it to where Ayo would be next in line to command Miryudōra's Imperial Army. However, she's only two years older than me, and is nowhere near ready to lead an entire army yet, that much was made evident during our sea voyage.

While in Dartaania, the unified Elven continent, there was an altercation between our crew and the Darya, the Dartaani Marine Force. The situation was pretty mild, that was until one of the Daryani made a tasteless joke about a pirate crew made up of mostly little girls; the comment was enough to send Ayo into a blind rage. So much so that when she had a moment to calm down, she realized that she'd sank one of the four idle ships that carried supplies and weapons.

One of our crewmates was Dartaani in origin and told us about the Vaedaryal, a race of Dartaani Elves that adapted to live in the sea. "The Vaedaryal will prosper once they receive this grand gift from the Empress of Miryudōra!" Ayo exclaimed as she ordered cannon fire and the sinking of the Darya vessel.

She had decided that the best option for her would be to be my shadow; it was very off putting at first, she would follow me everywhere I went. She had zero understanding of the word "privacy," whether I was bathing, sleeping, studying, what have you, I knew Ayo was right next to me.

It was unbearable, until one day, it wasn't. I wasn't sure why, but I found myself actually looking for her when she wasn't around. She's like a big sister that I've always wanted. We were basically inseparable, and when it was time to develop our skills and fighting prowess, we were unstoppable.

Something that was interesting in Miryudōra was the unique signatures that the denizens had. I'm used to seeing more elemental based signatures, but here the concepts are a bit more abstract. For example, I possess a Shadow Signature, not exactly an element, but not too out of the norm compared to someone with a Hunger Signature. This ability allows for the user to be linked to their subordinates via their stomach, and all emotions and thoughts are heavily influenced by the leader. This signature seemed weird at first, but when I realized that this was how Ayo was able to command a ship of seventy-five young pirate lasses, I understood why Uncle Aether wanted her to be in charge of Miryudōra's army.

In theory, her skill gives her complete influence over her men, and the exchange works both ways. Ayo's subordinates each borrow a bit of her power when they are in battle. However, after the time I spent on the seas, visiting each nation, I quickly understood that there hadn't been any large-scaled wars or battles in hTraé.

I was meant to have a meeting with Uncle Aether, who led me to the throne room, "Mini, there is something you must understand before you ascend this throne."

I was confused, why'd he bring me here? "Yes?" I asked with a shaky breath. He sat down on one of the thrones and motioned me to join him to sit on the larger throne assumed to be mine. So, I did, and he took a deep breath before dropping a major bomb.

"Minerva," he asked, "Are you familiar with a place called Earth?"

My heart dropped, how did he know I was from Earth? What is this? Is this some sort of simulation? I just don't want to lose what I have here! I didn't know what to say, I was frozen and without words.

"You're silent," my uncle stated, "which means you have. No worries, Little One, you're not in trouble. However, since you intend to become Empress of this nation, you should be made privy to this information." With a circular motion with his hand, he created shadow-like people and animals.

"This realm, hTraé, and the realm of Earth are linked; bound together by the seams of the True Void, that thin line that connects the sky with the land or sea," he continued, "since you've heard of Earth, I'm assuming you are familiar with the concept of 'As above, So below,' is that a fair assumption?"

I nervously nodded my head.

He went on to explain that hTraé operates on a similar principle, with a few exceptions. For one, hTraé has its own day and night cycle; there's a sun and moon and we can even view other planets. Where it gets interesting is the sky and sea, "We reside inside the celestial body known as Earth," he explained, "now you might be asking yourself, 'if we live in the Earth, then why aren't we boiling alive?' The simple answer is magic, but a more technical explanation would be the laws of duality."

Duality? Like there are always two sides of every coin? Things were starting to make a bit more sense to me now that he had explained this to me. "Mini, during your voyage, did you notice how there were no wars? No battles amongst the people of this world?"

I nodded my head again, "I did, but I didn't really think much about it."

"Earth is and will always be in a state of perpetual chaos, whereas hTraé will forever remain in a state of perpetual peace," and when my uncle said those words, it clicked. I had been conditioned to believe that my life on Earth was the only one that I'd ever have. I then abandoned that conditioning after I met Astaroth and my new family. And if what my uncle was telling me was true, then that means that I will need to be the version of me that can lead and protect those I care about. I understood that my being here was the direct antithesis of my life on Earth.

"A perpetual state of peace," I unknowingly repeated; it made a lot of things make sense. It was likely the reason why Earth was so screwed up and this place flourished.

"The world powers of hTraé, the six Demon Lords, and our predecessors have upheld a time honored mutual non-aggression pact," he stated with a blissful expression, "and because of this, peace will always remain." He paused and stared at me with his royal, purple-colored eyes. The eyes of a person who just seen a long lost relative, "it is unparalleled, the resemblance," he remarked.

"To whom?" I asked, the comment was so abrupt that it threw me off guard.

Uncle Aether straightened his posture and took a deep breath, "Tell me, Mini, did you know that the domain we live in, the Ryudō, used to be one massive kingdom called 'Ryudō; The Holy Dragon Empire'?" He went on to explain that the nation was founded by the Demon Lords of Time and Space that went by the names of Astaroth and Beelzebub, "And you bear a STRIKING resemblance to The Queen of Space, Lady Beelzebub," Uncle Aether cleared up.

Is that what Astaroth was talking about when he said he was going to make me his Queen. I had a feeling something like that was the case, especially since Myrlin looks so much like him, Astaroth.

"After the kingdom was established, and the second generation of Demon Lords were ready to ascend, the nation was split in half," he proclaimed, "separated by the LeFey Forest, the Ryudō gave birth to two new countries, Garyudōra in the West and Miryudōra in the South. Oh yeah, and there was one other thing, your parents wanted me to let you know something."

This just keeps getting better, both my thoughts and stomach were doing summersaults from all this news.

"You're not a twin, rather, you are, just not to Monspeed," he continued, "your mother, when she was in her early stages of her pregnancy, was attacked by a venomous Slime Viper, and because of this she had an irregular pregnancy. It was so irregular in fact that she had been in labor an entire year before she had you and Monspeed." From my understanding, Myrlin, Monspeed and I are triplets, with Myrlin being the eldest of us and Monspeed being the runt. "I'm sure you've noticed that you and Myrlin have a lot more in common than you and Monspeed, am I right?" His voice reverberated throughout the throne room. Alas, he was right, Myrlin and I were always close, and truth be told, the past few decades I suspected there was a deeper connection between the two of us.

"I won't get too into the topic, but you and your older brother, Myrlin, are what we in hTraé call an Asura," he informed. He further elaborated that Asuras are a Mythical race, and it's rumored that the patron goddess, Lady Tiamat, was in fact an Asura herself. "All creatures that draw breath owe it solely to Lady Tiamat, for the four Cardinal races in this world are Dragons, Demons, Fairies, and Slime Monsters," Uncle Aether mentioned, "these are the four races that make an Asura, one-third Dragon, one-third Demon, one-third Fairy, and point zero one percent slime."

With all the information my uncle was giving me, I found myself being overwhelmed and I began to hyperventilate. Ever the gentleman, however, my uncle picked me up and sat me on his lap. It's been so long since I sat on his or father's laps. He stroked my hair to help calm me down, "Mini, I understand this is a lot of information," he calmly explained, "but you see, this throne is more than just a throne, it's a responsibility that must have unwavering resolve."

I had understood the task that had presented itself to me, and although it seemed scary, I knew that I wouldn't be alone. "And because you are inheriting the Miryudōran throne, you have an obligation to uphold," the room was already fairly quiet, however, once Uncle Aether said that the silence was almost deafening, "I'm doing this a bit ahead of schedule, but I'd rather now than later. Minerva, as you know, I hold the Epitaphs of Demon Lord of Space and Prime Minister of Miryudōra. But sadly, these are not permanent titles."

He took a long and calculated deep breath and closed his eyes, "Lady Eos and I both agreed that we would need to prepare the two of you for this now." My uncle placed his hand on top my head and began to speak, "with absolute dominion over Space, I, Garyūshi Shangomaru, bestow the Epitaph of First Crown Princess of Miryudōra to the individual known as Minerva Cosmina Wyllt." The area where his hand was beginning to grow warm, not hot or burning, but a soft warmth that felt soothing; so soothing in fact that I hadn't noticed that I had passed out.

I then found my dream self in the dark chasm that has plagued me since I arrived here; the air was heavier and thicker than it usually was. And there was this piercing ringing in my ear accompanied by that incessant whispering and murmuring "mine, mine, all mine!" I felt a presence, a presence that was overwhelmingly greedy.