Weeks had passed since Xerxes read the news of his family. Waking Wind and Soulless Sun were now names that the Kingdom of Layne had pride in.
Xerxes knew Aya and Dorian were doing their best to fulfil their dreams, and Xerxes wasn't any different in that sense.
Still, it felt bitter reading the rest of the newspaper. What was transcribed was that Cid Eshvir - otherwise known as 'Shadowbound', had agreed, with the permission of the Eshvirs, to form a party: Aya, Dorian and Cid.
The reason was quite vague, but a statement was made from Shadowbound, "As everyone knows, I am a knight who has sworn his allegiance to the Eshvirs and the forest, yet I can not feign ignorance any longer.
I can no longer simply stand idly beneath the lines of trees, waiting for another person who would attack the Eshvir forest, when threats far outstretch what our forest can reach.
This time our blades were narrowly in reach of the mage, but next time, who knows what could happen?
Therefore, I have decided to party with the people who have made me realise my weaknesses. The Crossed Seas Guild, Dorian and Aya, will be my new partners, and we will end the evil spreading in the Layne Kingdom, till we all can return to our normal lives."
After reading it, Xerxes was frustrated. His habits had changed, he was a bit ill-tempered, but it was natural.
Xerxes always had trouble finding somewhere to belong, and at The Crossed Seas Guild, with them, it was something akin to belonging.
He knew they didn't know he was alive; he knew it wasn't like that, but he felt replaced.
It was selfish to say the least - after all the truth family were acting as that and he shouldn't let others feel grief. It isn't who he is, so instead of wallowing in sadness, he channelled those emotions into training.
Leiya was able to pick up on the changes, and she didn't want him to be in a sour mood, so they decided to talk.
Leiya and Xerxes sat atop a small hill, west of the castle and looked over into the endless expanse of trees and mountains that the fallen kingdom held. "You've been down Xerxes, tell me, what's up?"
Using his sword to pick at the grass, Xerxes sighed. It wasn't only Layne, it was the fact he felt nervous about the 3-month mark, which was nearing. "I don't know Leiya, have you ever felt as if you're powerless, powerless against your destiny?"
Leiya seemed to think on the question, she never really had to think too philosophically about things, but Xerxes sparked a new line of thinking, "Destiny, it's hard to feel frustrated against such an abstract thing, but I do understand, take time for example, we can't control it and maybe we wish for moments where we felt time would just slow, you know, when your in bliss, but you it's just about acceptance."
"What if I can't accept my destiny? What if I want to shape it, mould it and carve my blade through it? All my life, I've felt like a stranger, an outsider, and I just want to have some sort of 'idea' of controlling my path."
Leiya asked a question in return, "How do you know you're not already doing that, think about it, you've put hours into polishing your swordsmanship, accelling in magic, spending time with us to push forward, you have your ambitions, I have mine? Being conscious of such a thing like 'desinty' can sometimes drive someone crazy, at least for someone as stupid as you." She teased.
Xerxes chuckled at Leiya's tease, "Let's say hypothetically, if you could, how would you want your life to turn out, Leiya?"
"Hmm, I'd want Grandpa Aemon to live long enough to see my kids and then theirs, I'd want to be able to unite the world I've known to the one you've known, I think even if I did go to the outside world, I would be an outcast and that would be fine for a while, I know I'd need to prove my worth, earn their trust and I don't have a problem with that."
"Something that Father had said to me once, you can't have ambition without the strength to reinforce it, but even more than strength, you need to possess an unshakable will that drives you through hardship, loss and anguish. Something like that, at least, so what about you?"
"When I have that strength to back up my ambition, then I would like to change the world, be a symbol for those who are like me and become renowned, uncover more about who I am and move forward."
Leiya nodded her head, "Well then, a promise to those dreams, may we carve and mould our destiny or something along those lines."
Xerxes held Leiya's hand and shook it, sealing the deal, "A promise it is."
Peaking out of Xerxes' inner pocket, "What's your dream Airi? What do you want to do?" Airi asked rhetorically, feeling left out.
Xerxes and Leiya both laughed as they talked for longer on various things, mainly more things on the outside world and other abstract things, as they returned to the castle.
Whilst walking back, the city was growing ever more lively, it was only a week until Leiya's birthday, yet the entire town was filled with various stalls, men who were brandishing colourful banners of blue and white colours, as well as different food that could be smelled from hundreds of metres away from the main town.
They had both arrived back at the castle, as they had greeted everyone, Aemon was busy in his room preparing Leiya's gift, from what Xerxes had found, whilst Conrad was still busy at the outpost, especially now at this time of the year, when monsters were known to act more rampantly.
The Fallen Kingdom had a few cycles:
The first cycle was a very slow period of the year, where hatchlings would appear and thus elder monsters would take care of the younger ones, ensuring they had a successful birth.
The second cycle increases the overall intensity, monsters have hatched, and the fallen kingdom has increased in number of beasts, that are learning to hunt and be the very monsters they are.
The third cycle allows the beast to hone their abilities and then start hunting, which leads into the fourth cycle.
The fourth cycle is the most intense, it lasts roughly a week or two out of the whole year. It barely gives any member of the outpost to have any rest, especially someone like Conrad who leads them all.
"No one seems to be here, I guess we should train even more -"
Aliya, Leiya's mother, walked in and stopped Xerxes' monotonous plan of training.
"There'll be no need for training, my dear. Perhaps we can do something even more interesting, for example, I can have a deeper look into Airi's abilities, after all, I have been researching them for a while and what I have discovered may shock you."