*A bag in his left hand, the princess's arm in the other, Felix was in a hurry to reach the castle gates. He was surprised by how quick the princess managed to prepare. Simple and light clothes, her clothes looked like they were perfect for camping, while still looking expensive. Her bag was surprisingly light too, big, but still easy to carry. He expected the princess to take lots of personal but unpractical objects with her.*

Eleonore: Where are we going?

Felix: To my lair, we shall be safe while you train.

Eleonore: Train? For what? Also, why are we not going to the stables?

Felix: I got my special horse ready to be summoned outside the castle walls. I cannot make him enter the castle since he is a bit “special”

Eleonore: Summoned!?

*The princess felt like the more question she would ask, the more question she would get. She could see that now was not the proper time for explanations, since they were running through the sleeping walls of the city. When finally they reached the other side of the castle gate-bridge, they stop next to what looked like a magic circle. it was a circle made of various arcanic symboles, mostly the rune "Ignis" and "Terra". In the middle of the circle, a pentagram was drawn the same way. A large red dripping stone has been placed in the middle. She then notices that Felix made a small cut on his thumb, adding a little drop of blood to the circle and lighting up the runes. “Security measures” he says before focusing on his ritual*

Felix: “ad me eques equitem irae reversus autem ab inferno in quo quiescit, et in terra viventium! Quae mando tibi ille tuus!” (Editor's note: magic to be reworked a little)

*As he finishes the incantation, the earth splits from where the circle once was. The stone falls into the fiery pit and a horse rises from the crack in the earth. The steed is as tall as one-and-a-half horse, with a pure black skin and a mane made from living flames. A dark mist seems to be emanating from the horse, as the gas seems to be absorbing light and not letting it go like greedy noble clings to his money. The horse eyes are as red as the hair of the one who summoned him and both of those eyes were emanating a faint red glow. The princess had never seen a horse this burly before. As the horse breathes flames come out of his nose. They were no mistake to be made, this horse came directly from hell itself*

Eleonore: Wh..what is THAT!?

Felix: Hop on princess, this is my special steed, we will be able to distance anyone chasing us.

*The horse didn’t seem to have any saddle, but as Felix hop on his horse, a shadowy one emanated from the horse. the saddle looked like it was made of "darkness". When she climbed on the horse back, she felt like hands were grabbing her feet, but it was actually the same “darkness material” that was keeping her from falling down, and turned into stirrups for her to rest her feet.*

Felix: Yaah!

*The horse was faster than any horse she ever saw. Every time the horse shoe’s hit the ground, they left a mark made of fire.*

Eleonore: Head to the forest, my knight, I know somewhere safe we can spend the night.

Felix: At you command Princess.

*For a few moments, only the sound of the horse could be heard. Silence was riding with them as the princess was wondering what exactly was she sitting on*

Eleonore: So… this horse…

Felix: Sorry about that, He likes to make a dramatic entrance whenever I summon him. He's a gift I got from Lucy.

Eleonore: Lucy?

Felix: Yes, Lucy, or Lucifer, if you prefer, he's the one who made me after all.

Eleonore: Does that not make you evil then?

Felix: Lucy is not a bad guy milady! He assumed the role of the black sheep willingly to inspire fear in the heart of sinners, to remind them that they can’t do what they want.But he’s more like a businessman, since so many people are sent to hell.

Eleonore: Why is that?

Felix: God only takes people that give him the most faith, like priests, and make them into archangels for his “army”. Faith is what powers a god and let them exist in the first place. Heavens is filled with all of God's "favorites". He thinks he's the ruler of the universe, but I think that he as a bit of a big ego.

*Lightning strikes near them, but the horse skillfully avoid the strike*

Felix: I also forgot to say he is susceptible. 

*They reached the entrance of the forest, Once they were on foot, Felix touched the skin of his horse. A glow emanated from contact and the horse seemed sucked into its center, before completely be absorbed by the same dripping stone that she saw in the circle. The princess took the lead as she was the one the most familiar with the surroundings. Felix was surprised to see that the princess was not taking the path that was entering the forest, but was instead delving inside the vegetation itself. He was also surprised by how easy it looked for her to navigate through the dense vegetation, despite her royal origins. He was actually the one slowing them down for once.*

Eleonore: Here it is, my secret hiding spot.

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*It was a clearing in the lush forest. On its center, A large shrine quickly catches the eye. The top half is of a woman on her knees who posse's angelic figures like wings and a halo, holding her hands in the air like she is waiting to be given something from an otherworldly being. The second half seems like to be some sort of stone table used to place items probably praying-related. The top of the "table" was pretty low, probably reachable while being on your knees. The golden woman seemed to made of pure gold, while her eyes seemed to be made of diamonds. 3 candles were sitting on each extremity except the front. On the right of the altar, A huge aqualis had been planted. The large flower, reaching his ankles in height, is a popular flower amongst campers. Its core, surrounded by large blue petals, produce the purest of water. Shaped like a basin, the flower was obviously planted there to supply anyone camping here with drinkable water*

Eleonore: Finally done!

*Felix turned to his left, while he was analyzing the beauty of his surroundings, the princess had time to install her tent. It appears that the princess did not bring any of her personal bearings, as it was apparent by the fact that she had emptied her bag on the ground, probably to find the tent. Instead was laying all that is necessary to survive in the woods. Amongst the medical kits and a few ration, she had also brought one of those modern foldable tents. Those tents were one of the rare innovation since the medieval times. Humanoids across the ages preferred focusing on researching magic instead of trying to understand how the world around them work.*

Eleonore: I only have one tent sadly, but it should be able to fit the two of…

Felix: It's ok princess, I can sleep by the fire. After a century you learn to be able to sleep anywhere.

Eleonore: How old are you exactly?

*Felix faked to be offended by the princess's question, but it was obvious that he was only messing with her*

Eleonore: You can also drop the formalities, I fear that I may not be a princess anymore. Sir… Felix, was it?

Felix: You shall know, milady, that I am 5247 years old. I was created 753 years after the birth of Lucy.

Eleonore: Impossible! Gaïa was created by God along with Satan billions of year ago! Lucifer cannot have appeared after... are you saying?

Felix: That's right, after the birth of man, which was 7000 years ago. Seems like they teach you a different history in school. You see, gods did not create the world, God was created when men started to believe that their lives were outside of their control, that someone was behind every aspect of nature. That “someone” was then created out of this belief to fill that exact role. The “child of God” of each religion actually describe their God at the start of their existence, before they accumulated enough faith to gain the power of gods.

Eleonore: There are many gods?

Felix: Yes, any god could be created if enough people believe in them, which is why you have lesser-gods like Odin and Rah. If enough people believed in a spaghetti god, he would exist, but thankfully not enough people believe that seriously. At the same time, believing in a superior being fuel the concept of god, who represent all religions gods and none of them at the same time.

Eleonore, captivated by Felix history lesson: What do you mean by all and none at the same time?

Felix: The main "God" that control everything has all the traits of all monogamist religions, like the Catholic God, the dwarvish God, and others, but Is not any of them specifically. He is ALL of them at the same time.

Eleonore: That’s crazy! how did they get created in only a thousand years?

Felix: Humans evolved fast with the help of other more magical races like elves and dwarves, so they started developing to medieval time faster, but with magic, progress stopped drastically.

Eleonore: What abo… *yawn*

Felix: It is late, princess. We should keep the rest for another day.

*She agreed, and after both wishing each other good night, they both went to sleep*

_________________________________________________

*It had been a long time since Felix had slept so peacefully. Even if he wanted to stay awake to guard the sleeping princess, he felt like the area itself was protected by a magic barrier, keeping evil at bay while inspiring a sense of security to the campers inside, forcing him to not be able to ignore his tiredness. The spell also seems to allow for a better rest. For some reason, Felix felt like a heavyweight has recently been removed from his chest when he woke up the morning after. When he looked around, he saw princess preparing what looked like a tasty meal.*

Eleonore: Rise and shine sleepy Felix! I prepared breakfast!

Felix: What is this place? I feel like even I would not be able to find it without direction.

Eleonore: It's a special placed transmitted from mother to daughter. She and I used to come here often to do some camping, now I go here every time I want to be alone and want to pray.

Felix: How did she die?

Eleonore: old age, five years ago.

Felix: Oh…

*Felix half expected some sort of tragic backstory about her mother being killed when she was young or something. Eleonore serves him a bowl of soup she was cooking. Even with simple ingredients, she managed to make a meal that tasted like something that would come from a five-star restaurant.*

Felix, semi-cold, but obviously enjoying his meal: not bad!

Eleonore, a bit annoyed by the bland feedback: It's a pretty romantic place where my mother took my father the day they decided to marry. It was a long time ago though so I think that he forgot. If he remembered, he would have sent guard here to find me, like when he was searching for me yesterday…

*She remembered her father’s death and got a little bit sadder*

Eleonore: So now only you and I know of this place. It's a bit like a tradition to bring the one that…

Felix: We should get going princess, we need to get your castle back.

Eleonore: What? What is your plan? Where are we going?

Felix: I heard that King Bertrand is the one claiming your kingdom right now. Before that though, we need to teach you how to defend yourself. I might be a good fighter, but being able to fight yourself would be of a great help and you might not need my help anymore. To train, we shall go to my lair, it's in the mountains.

Eleonore: Why would you want to reclaim the kingdom? Can’t I live in a peaceful place now that I lost my throne?

Felix: I fear that the attacks will not stop princess since you would be able to reclaim the throne just by coming back. If I recall, It is priority to royal blood according to your laws. As long as you are still alive, you pose a threat to anyone trying to claim the throne. Also, I have sworn to protect you until you are completely safe milady. I am an honorable mercenary and I shall not end this contract until I am done.

*They packed everything and headed outside the forest, after repeating the incantation, Felix summoned his horse*

Felix: Now that it is day, we are more susceptible to be attacked

------------------------------------------------------------------

*His fears were confirmed half an hour later, as they were getting closer to the mountains. Two mounted elves started to rain arrows toward them. Strafing left and right, Felix’s horse skillfully dodged the attacks, he was used to that kind of action.*

Felix: We need to lose them, while my horse and I can get hit a few time, you, princess, might be in danger.

Eleonore: can’t you shoot them back?

Felix: not with you on my back, I can’t even reach my bow. We just need to hold on until we reach this hill in the distance

*Felix is hit on the shoulder, the arrow stuck after the tip reached the other side. Felix ignored the pain. He cast a fireball, hitting one of the elves, but the other one shoots an arrow toward the princess. In panic and by reflex, she holds the pendant hidden behind her robe and chant*

Eleonore: “protegas me ut lux”

* On those words, a magic barrier appears behind them, blocking the arrow on its path, just in time. They reached the bottom of the hill, but instead of climbing it, darkness emanates from the horse and the rock seems to stop existing in their path, closing right behind them. They are phasing through the rock, and you can actually see the minerals inside the hill made by the "voiding darkness"*

Felix: Don’t grab anything, we are still going fast

*”Not like I need that ruby right now,” she thought. when they reached the other side, they had lost the elves, but the horse stopped, in front of them, a different elf was waiting for the duo. Felix was looking at him with disgust, like he knew the man*

Felix: Drake.