Contrary to what many would assume, nothing comes that easy to a crown prince. Especially sparring against an older cousin. Even worse if said older cousin is a captain of the Altocumulian Army.
Because that results in getting thrown across a courtyard.
Neir rolled backwards over the ground beneath him, just barely managing to land on his feet. He slid across the dirt from the momentum, as dust kicked up in clouds around him, stinging his eyes and nose. Agitated, he gripped the hilt of his sword tighter, standing up to face his opponent once more.
As he looked up, the captain had closed the distance between them, his scarred face only a foot away, raising his sword over his shoulder to land a final strike. Left without time to evade, Neir threw his sword in front of himself, blocking the blow.
THWACK!
Their swords collided in the air. Neir's hands pressed his sword against the blade that was pressing him into the ground. He gritted his teeth under the pressure, his forehead slick with beads of sweat that made his long golden hair stick to his face. His ears twitched in rhythm with his frustrated heartbeat, while he stared into the captain's good eye.
He steeled himself under the force of his cousin's strength, and drew in a sharp breath. In a blur, Neir stepped to the side, pushing the blade in the other direction and causing it to drive right into the ground where he once stood. He lifted his sword, ready to strike, only for the captain to recover fast enough to bash his sword into Neir's wrist.
Neir stared, dumbfounded, as his sword flew out of his hand. Before it had even hit the ground, the captain thrusted the pommel of his sword into Neir's right cheek.
Ku-heok!
As he coughed, staggering to the side, the captain scythed his leg into Neir's ankles, and he pitched forward into the yawning ground.
Thud.
Neir lay there for a moment, feeling something warm trickle over his top lip.
"Alright, Zandik, you win," Neir surrendered dazedly from the floor, not wanting the embarrassment of facing his older cousin like this.
Zandik raised an eyebrow before relaxing. After a huff of relief, he chuckled, "You're getting rusty, Neir," causing Neir to pout as he pushed himself into an upright position, blood dripping onto his shirt.
Zandik stood above him, his left eye squinting in the setting sun while his right eye was unbothered. A long scar drew across the right side of his face, a sign of what once made him half-blind.
Still, Neir protested, "Well, it's not my fault," as Zandik bent down to pick up his waster. "My parents want to crown me by the end of this year, so they keep berating me with royal nonsense."
"You think I don't know that?" Zandik retorted, gesturing to himself in a matter-of-fact way.
"Sure, but you're not their son."
Zandik's face faltered, before being plastered with a bitter smirk.
"Right," he huffed, returning the wasters to their rack. "The plight of the Golden Prince."
Neir mumbled, rolling his eyes. "Please stop calling me that…"
"But you are," Zandik said, handing Neir a handkerchief. "You're the top of every one of your classes," he continued, "one of the best swordsmen in Altocumulus—when you remember to practice…"
"Shut up…"
"Hel, you've got girls lining up at your door just for a chance to marry you," Zandik added, turning away.
"Ew, no."
He sighed and looked wistfully into the distance, "Even Solarus adores you, Neir."
Neir tensed, the pressure of a god's name boring into his mind, the setting sun seeming to burn twice as bright on his skin. While Zandik walked back to the racks to pick up his and Neir's things, Neir looked down, his attention shifting to the cloth in his hand and the blood on his shirt.
He scowled, muttering under his breath, "Ruining my favourite blouse…" as he pinched his nose.
Wiping the blood and sweat off of his face, he knew Zandik was right. Neir had spent his whole life being told his luck was a product of his hard work. His mother would even tell him that he was the reincarnation of the long parted White Gold Eagle; a symbol of diligence and protection, an inspiration to all of Altocumulus.
He smiled bitterly, for no matter how much he wanted to believe it, he knew it wasn't true.
He slowly got to his feet, wincing from the tension that ached through his muscles.
Walking over to Zandik, he sighed, "Whatever you say, Captain…" his voice a nasally buzz, nose still pinched. Zandik turned with his eyebrows raised.
"What," he laughed, "don't believe me?" Neir simply responded by looking unamused. Seeing Neir wasn't convinced, he continued, "Why don't we go to the Temple? You can ask Solarus yourself."
There it was, that dreaded name once more. The mighty Solarus. Neir never understood everyone's obsession with convincing him he was god's favourite. First off, what kind of god plays favourites? What's more, if a god were to have a favourite, why him of all people?
Might as well get it over with…
"…Fine."
The two started towards the Temple of Solarus located on Council grounds. The walk had an awkward silence in the air, one of which Neir was doing anything to distract himself from; from observing the trees, to avoiding stepping on bugs.
Eventually bored of the silence, the trees, and the bugs, he opted for the clouds in the sky. The clouds laid high and white, littering the brilliant blue sky in clumps. More than anything, they reminded Neir of his own people; high and mighty, and clumped together.
Various elegant birds soared overhead in a playful manner, prompting Neir to subconsciously bring his hand up to touch his own winged ears, white as a dove's. Looking in front of him, he observed half of Zandik's right ear that had been torn in a battle from years ago. Considering both Neir's ears were intact, he really was lucky.
No sooner than he'd glanced back into the sky, an eagle soared over the two of them. One larger than any he'd ever seen before. It shone in the sunlight in a glorious prismatic gold so radiant, it diminished the vibrance of the sky. As it passed over Neir, it looked down at him with a piercing eye that stared so deep into Neir's soul, that he felt he knew that gaze his whole life.
Even so, as quickly as it had appeared, it soared away, leaving Neir dumbfounded and alone. He blinked a few times in disbelief, mouth agape in awe.
Was that…?
Such an unmistakable golden brilliance, one that rivaled the most lavish pieces of solarite. With his mouth still open, Neir dropped his gaze down to where Zandik had walked away.
"Hey- wait up!"
Zandik paused to turn around, seeing that Neir had fallen far behind.
"Sorry," he said as Neir ran up to him, "I hadn't noticed you'd stopped." Then he paused. "What is it?" Neir hesitated, knowing what he was about to say would sound so incredibly foolish.
Finally, he asked, "… You know the White Gold Eagle?" Zandik's eyebrows raised at the stupidity of the question.
"Are you messing around?" he snorted, "Of course I know the Great Eagle, who doesn't?"
Neir winced in embarrassment, for again, Zandik was right. Who in Altocumulus hasn't heard of their own guardian? He was right to think it was stupid. Any wish to tell Zandik of the eagle he saw overhead had vanished.
"Nevermind," he muttered, not wanting to further make a fool of himself. Zandik raised an eyebrow, but decided to brush it off, turning to continue walking.
For the rest of the way, Neir couldn't help but steal glances at the sky, hoping to see the bird once more; hoping to prove to himself that it was real. For that's all he'd ever wanted.
As they neared the Temple, the greenery thickened, blocking much of Neir's view of the sky. Left with no other choice now, he stared forward at the structure now coming into view.
The walls of the roofless Temple were tall, ivory columns overwhelmed with climbing vines of ivy, save for the wall at the back that was entirely solid. Inside, two streams, filled with small fish and littered with lilies, flanked the sides of a walkway that extended towards a looming statue of The Sunchild, Solarus.
Despite the statue's age, it was in pristine condition, showing Solarus in its most common depiction. A small humanoid in the fetal position, with multiple pairs of feathered wings sprouting from various points of its body. Above its lowered head laid a spiked halo resembling the symbol of the sun. Without needing to look, Neir knew that an eagle's head would be sitting proudly at the base of the statue.
Before they could draw near enough to the altar, Zandik abruptly stopped, raising his arm to stop Neir as well.
"Wait," he ordered.
Annoyed, Neir asked, "What now?" He looked beyond Zandik's shoulder to see what was wrong.
At the base of the statue of Solarus, there was a small figure, covered entirely by a long white cloak. Judging by its height, Neir figured it might be a child.
Seeing as the figure hadn't noticed their entrance, Zandik drew a breath and bellowed, "Who goes there?" his words echoing off of the wall behind the statue. The figure didn't flinch—hardly even moved. It gently raised its hands, seemingly in surrender. As if in slow motion, the figure began to turn around, revealing its face.
"Thyehk," Neir swore under his breath.
Zandik gave Neir a sideways glare and elbowed him in the gut.
"Watch your tongue."
"Sorry…"
Under a thin veil, the stranger's face was like nothing he'd ever seen; soft, ghostly pale skin, and gaunt eyes that stayed eerily shut. Nevertheless, Neir still felt its gaze.
Turning his attention back to the cloaked figure, Zandik said, "You're trespassing on private grounds," to which the figure showed no signs of response. Thus, he simply announced, "You're coming with us."
As if Zandik finally said something it understood, the stranger walked towards the two, lazily lowering its arms to its sides. Zandik warily turned to lead it out of the Temple.
As the cloaked one passed Neir, it gave him a smile; Something so simple and barely noticeable, yet sent chills down his spine; had it sensed he was there, staring? Uncomfortable, Neir averted his eyes, watching Zandik lead the trespasser out of the temple.
Despite never opening its eyes, the stranger seemed to follow Zandik with no trouble at all. The two walked away, seemingly forgetting Neir right where he stood. He turned to look back at the statue one last time before leaving, but something caught his eye.
At Solarus' feet, there laid no eagle's head; nothing but a cavity in the stone.
To be continued...