The Emerald Sea was not so much as a sea, but an extensive grassland that expanded in all directions as far as the eye could sea. At the base of the mountain range that held the well-protected Kingdom of Balthae, the grass was still short and traversable without much problem. However, once a few miles in, the grass grew taller, and after that grew a thicket of short, flattop trees. Every so often a traveler would find a cutout oasis with a town and some farmlands. But the Emerald Sea, despite its name that implied a sense of beauty, was bandit territory and was left unprotected by neither the Kingdom nor the Empire. People settled there at their own risks and travelers could never be sure if a village was run by actual villagers, or if it was a stronghold for pillagers. Neither side had ever dared to try and take the Emerald Sea, knowing that the never-ending bandit companies would side with whomever would try to keep the middlelands free. It would be a losing battle and a waste of resources for either side.

As the Prince’s party descended upon the Emerald Sea, citizens of Balthae who heard the clattering of horse shoes against the stone path would rush out of their homes to catch a glimpse at their Kingdom’s leader. Horses were not convenient for normal citizens to own, so not many did. If anyone heard the sounds of horses galloping along the paths of the city, they could assume it was more than likely it was someone in the royal army. When the citizens waved to him, he would wave and smile back at them wordlessly. No one wished them a safe journey or bid them farewell for everyone knew of the warriors’ tradition and respected it.

The entrance to the Emerald Sea was unremarkable. There was a small checkpoint at the end of the path with a few guards who tipped their helms and bid them a good afternoon as they rode past undisturbed by any formalities of identification papers or border passes. The Kingdom’s crest on all of their horses was enough identification for them to get pass undisturbed. Once the party had made it into full canter on the open planes, Zephèl called out to his company from over his shoulder,

“There is about a seven hour journey at full canter to the first friendly village. We will stop there for the night and stock up on supplies for the rest of the journey!” He shouted over the wind and clammering of hooves against the earth below them. He looked to each of the members of his company before pressing onwards toward their first destination on their campaign.

For the first half of the journey the rode on in silence and without any break. However, Zephèl would not ignore their mounts’ needs and bodily limits. When he decided he had pushed the horses far enough, he called for a rest so that their party could regroup.

Zephèl and Mathias surveyed their surroundings with Allia and Lyrian, while Jania and Kaoli watered the horses. There was not much to see by ways of scenery. Just grasslands extending in all directions with hints of smoke on the horizon.

“Is that smoke coming from village where we’re heading, Your Highness?” Allia asked in a soft voice, her arm extended in their direction of their destination.

“I wonder,” Zephèl voiced his contemplation out loud, propping his chin on his knuckles thoughtfully as he turned to his two other companions, “What do you think, Lyrian? Mathias?”

Mathias gave Zephèl an another reprimanding look. They were a few hours at full canter from their destination. Playing along, Mathias was content with just shrugging his shoulders, but Lyrian was not as quick to catch on to Zèphel’s need to make a simple situation into something extravagantly annoying.

“I don’t think so, Your Highness. Those are probably just travelers camping along the safer parts of the sea,” she stated matter-of-factly and Zephèl had to stop himself from laughing.

“It is just as Lyrian says, Allia. But don’t worry, if they are bandits they would be fools to attack us out in the open. Just wait until we get to the highlands, though, where the stalks of grass are taller than any man or beast,” Zephèl waved his arms dramatically as though to give her some sort of estimation of their size, “I wonder how many times we will be attacked before we reach the other side.” He laughed openly at the thought.

Mathias placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder,

“That really is not something you should be joking about—“

“Don’t worry, your highness!” Allia interjected quickly and loudly, “If it comes to that, I swear I will lay down my life for yours!”

All four of them went quiet for a moment and Zephèl and Mathias stared at the girl intently. They looked to each other and smiled. Both men placed a comforting hand on either one of her shoulders.

“I don’t think that is an acceptable course of action, my lady,” Mathias teased her with a smile.

“Exactly! Because you see,” Zephèl moved to face her head on, “When in my company, no warrior is allowed to think of death. I will guarantee you safe passage home.”

Allia looked over her shoulder to her Commander who stood facing the other direction, trying to keep her back turned on the embarrassing scene,

“You heard the man. That’s just the type of Prince he is.”

Something must have awakened in the young Captain’s heart for she finally smiled at the Prince,

“Yes, Your Highness!”

He was not sure what caused him to be taken aback by the sight of the Captain’s smiling face but he felt his own face becoming warm and it caused him to clear his throat and quickly turn around. Clapping his hands as he cleared his throat he started to head back to Jania, Kaoli and the horses,

“Well, I think that’s enough resting for now. It will be dark in a few hours so we better get a move on.”

Mathias nodded his head in agreement, covering his face with his hand to hide a smile that threatened to take over his features any moment.