The clothes they had given him to change into, though in no way cheap or dirty, were just as scratchy and tight as the night clothes he had been changed into the night before. The Empire had prided itself in the trade and production of silk. It was still expensive but common—and much more comfortable to wear than the thick leathers, wools, and velvet that had been provided for him to change into. According to Mathias, the clothes had all belonged to Zephèl had some point. He had gone with the black velvet suit that had been provided for him as well as a pair of tall walking boots. It was definitely not ideal as the clothes were still on the larger side and incredibly difficult to move in. His long hair fell awkwardly over the back of the suit and he was forced to gather and tie it up so it wouldn’t add heat to his back. He had taken much longer to change than Mathias would have liked, though when Yu emerged from the room in the suit he definitely noted the the mockery in the man’s features. Something told Yu that his clothing choice was either amusing or that it was not flattering on him.

As the two walked down the halls of the castle, Yu felt like he was in another world. There was so much wood and stone everywhere. The place was incredibly rustic and homely, but it was also much larger than Yu had imagined. Every door looked different with all of the carvings and it was definitely difficult to see in the artificial candle light. It was much different than what he was used to. Thinking back on his initial escape plan from this place, it seemed pretty unlikely he would be able to find the exit on his own. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for the doors, no audience chamber, no dining pavilion, no open courtyards. Every so often men or women either dressed in the red military uniform that Mathias wore or in simple muted dresses and suits would pass by and occasionally bow to or salute them. There seemed to be a lot of servants and guards wandering the premises pretty freely. Servants would gossip while they cleaned and the guards would laugh as they were on duty. Everyone here appeared incredibly relaxed. After what seemed like an eternity of walking, they passed by their first stairway going up. Yu instinctively stopped as he felt a looming presence glaring down at him from the top of the stairs. Someone or something was beckoning him and he felt himself taking a step forward.

Suddenly he felt himself being pulled back by the collar and a large hand engulfing his own. Mathias was staring down at him with an unreadable look in his eyes.

“What’s up there?” Yu asked, his tone was dark and serious. The rest of the castle had just made him feel uncomfortable because it was unfamiliar. But whatever was at the top of the stairs made his skin crawl.

Mathias started to forcefully drag Yu away from the stairs and the young man dug his heels into the floor, trying to get the man to listen to him, “Answer me! If you are cursed or if there is someone lingering, I can try to commune with it and—“

“It’s nothing,” Mathias said stiffly and took a deep breath. He patted the boy on the head with a defeated look in his eyes, “It won’t last forever.”

Yu did not look all too convinced by the explanation, and he was not. But he let his skepticism slide, and let Mathias lead him away from the stairwell by the hand. They continued walking through a few more twists and turns as Mathias continued to grasp his hand. Yu figured it was because he did not want him running off again, but the man’s hand was clammy and the tightness seemed to come more from nerves rather than anger. Sighing deeply, Yu followed him into what appeared to be a makeshift court chamber. It was a grandiose entrance hall with a high stone ceiling with magnificent carvings of battle scenes along the entire wall. Yu’s sapphire gaze traced each image, his eyes wide with awe.

“You like it?” Mathias asked, looking up at the ceiling with his usual prideful gleam. Yu nodded silently in response though he honestly did not care either way, “It’s our kingdom’s history. This land is still pretty new by most accouns, but we were once ruled by magic users just like the people in your Empire. A lot of wars were fought but what came from it is what you see here today. The gods we look to are not gods, so much as the two men that helped free our lands long ago. We call them the Two Heroes,” Mathias explained as he pointed to two beautifully carved men on the wall.

The two figures appeared multiple times in the giant mural. They each carried a shield with a lion’s head engraved into it as well as wielded two swords each. Yu stared at them intently, narrowing his eyes on their equipment, “What are you staring at?” Mathias inquired, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“The Lion and the two swords, what does it mean?” He asked, making Mathias smile wider.

“My, you’re curious. And surprisingly uneducated. You’d think that your Emperor would want his son learnng of foreign affairs,” he laughed whole heartedly and pointed to his lion brooch with the two swords protruding from its head that decorated his uniform, “It’s a symbol of pride for our nation and only the king and his most loyal subjects may wear it. The lion represents bravery while the two swords represents the will to fight for our kingdom,” Mathias’s eyes held a distant look of enlightenment as he stared at the mural.

Yu frowned and Mathias’s explanation.

“My Emperor, or father, as I like to call him, doesn’t care for me to be involved in political affairs, much less the affairs of primitive lands outside of our holdings,” Yu looked around the room once more “Have you ever met them?” Yu suddenly asked.

Mathias gave him a dumbfounded look and the young man returned it with his usual ignorance, “Did I say something strange?”

“The Two Heroes died a long time ago. How can I communicate with people who are long gone? Primitive to you, or not, that’s just impossible.” The look he gave Yu was clearly demeaning as he crossed his arms and shook his head.

“You are the ones who are strange.”

Yu did not look particularly happy as he mimicked Mathias’s stance with the addition of a pompous smirk on his face.

“Oh? Do explain, Your Highness,” his tone was mocking as he returned the young prince’s look.

“Well, I am just saying that in the case of my own Empire, the ones we worship are actually alive. They just are not from around here.” He had a sense of pride as he spoke, but Mathias did not look convinced. Yu continued to stare at him for approval, “You still don’t understand?”

“I understand that your people are crazy,” He laughed, but Yu was not amused.

“Look, your people believe that the power my people possess stems from how we are born, correct? As though we are physically different and that’s what gives us our powers. Well, it doesn’t. Since the founding of Sorae, the Emperors have been in agreement with a race of people from another world. We refer to them as Vhysps. They look like little balls of light that fly around everywhere. We worship them and provide them with resources to fuel their own society, while they provide us a sustainable source of energy in return. That energy is what your people call our sins. We also provide them with a vessel to link our two worlds and—“

Yu felt himself being nudged from behind as he stumbled forward a bit. He turned around to face a grinning Mathias who innocently waved back at him, “What was that for?”

“We don’t have all day,” he quickly replied, ushering the boy towards the entrance.

As they continued through the Audience Chamber, Yu could not find it in himself to tear his eyes away from the mural. Although his eyes held a sense of scorn for the primitive thinking of these mountain dwellers, the artistry that stared down at him was astounding. The colors were muted with time but the details were so life-like that he could hear the shouts and calls of battle in his mind. Mathias masked a encroaching smile of his own with the back of his hand as he continued herd the naïve prince out of the hall.