Capítulo 40: Reactions (2)

[Alexandria, Capital of the Zenia Empire, Northern part of the Southlands]

A massive white storm hit the southern tip of Pluoria, causing heavy wind and rain. The Zenia Empire was the biggest in the Southlands; they guarded the way North alongside the Nethania kingdom.

The culture of the four kingdoms is similar to the Middle Eastern and Arabian cultures on Earth. Women wear kaftans and long flowy skirts made of colorful silk, satin, or cotton and have slits on either side, allowing comfortable walking.

The men wore a long tunic called a thobe with a vest or long coat; the weather was always hot. In the kingdom's palace, three men and a woman sat around a stone table talking until they felt and saw the massive storm in the south.

The woman who was the Queen of the kingdom turned to the King and asked, "Amkhu, what is happening in the south? Should we send help to the Nethanians in the East?"

Emperor Amkhu Sharifi looked at his wife before answering. ''Hatshepsut, this isn't a normal storm; something the world hasn't seen will be born.''

The Queen looked skeptical, ''How do you know that, dear?''

He continued to look at the approaching storm as a bright white light flashed quickly before vanishing, "An old tome I've read describes the storm in front of us; they have debated it for hundreds of years.''

Amkhu turned to his servant and ordered, ''Tell Nefertiti she is to stay in the academy and not leave until the storm passes.''

***

[Aquaria, Captial of the Aquarian Kingdom, southwest of the Southlands on the coast of The Serpent's Sea]

The King was training with his children when they all heard the massive boom, which sent the horses fleeing in terror. A light-blue-haired teen with big blue eyes came running out of the tent. ''Papa, what's going on?''

He looked at his beautiful daughter as he smiled. ''Change my Little Teuila, the time of change has come.''

The girl looked up just as the white flash lit up the sky, as the storm raged on, her eyes widened as she saw a magnificent illusion take shape before her. Amid the churning clouds, a giant white dragon appeared.

Its scales gleamed in the flickering lightning, each shimmering with a ghostly glow. The dragon's wings unfurled, and the girl could see every detail etched into their surface as they vanished into thin air.

Teuila stared at the storm with wide eyes. Her father turned to her, saw the look on her face, and asked, "Little Flower, what did you see?"

''Papa, I saw a white dragon in the storm.,'' Teuila replied as she pointed into the sky.

The man's eyes widened at his daughter's reply, and his wife Mele spoke up from behind them, ''Lashure, come in now. The storms are getting worse.''

But he wasn't listening as excitement overtook him, ''He's here, he has finally arrived!''

The mother and daughter looked confused before Teuila spoke, ''Who's he?''

Lashure didn't answer straight away until his wife poked him. Shaking his head as he replied. ''Legend says that the white king will rise and forever change the Southlands.''

He looked at his daughter with a stern expression. ''Stay with your mother from now on; things will get dangerous.''

***

[Sikak, Capital of the Nethania Kingdom, Eastern part of the Southlands]

Nethania kingdom borders the massive Dareen Forest, one of the traders' routes to head north. The forest stretches up the Eastern side of the Southlands, separated from The Howling Jungle by a massive lake and mountain range.

Two paths from the eastern part lead to the center or North, which are guarded by Nethania forts. In a palace in the center of Sikak City, a man and two women discussed the army's plans to clear the cannibal tribes from their borders.

''Rayhan, the army is ready to move out. You only have to give the order, and the cannibals will be wiped out.''

King Rayhan Samra was about to reply when a loud boom was heard overhead. The three people rushed to the closest window and looked out to see a giant mana storm gathering over The Howling Jungle.

One of the man's wives asked. ''Is Goddess Ziena angry, maybe?''

''No, Nasra, this has nothing to do with any of the gods or goddesses apart from one.''

He looked at the white storm until a white flash was witnessed. ''It's the Goddess Tiamat.''

The second wife asked with a confused look. ''Why would the Dragon Goddess be here?''

''Well, Aludra, she is not here per se, but that white storm is a dragon ritual, and only she can grant only one dragon the privilege of becoming a white dragon.''

His wives wondered how he knew all this, and he read their expressions before laughing. ''Books, my beautiful wives.''

The King smiled as he knew what would happen to his western neighbor when the white King found out what he'd been doing.

***

[Hafayah, Capital of the Kheesara Kingdom, Southern part of the Southlands]

King Isar Kheesara stood on a balcony looking over his kingdom as the white storm started. His head snapped towards the jungle. A massive mana storm was gathering far into it. ''Vance!''

Isar screamed out to his butler, and soon, a young man wearing a butler's uniform appeared. The King looked at the butler before asking. ''Do you know what this is?''

He pointed at the storm as the butler looked up. His eyes widened when he reported the rumors coming from the North, ''Well, Your Majesty, there was a rumor circling the traders from the Avalon Empire that states that a white dragon has risen, and the church is hunting for him.''

The King got a questioning look as he asked the butler more questions with a suspicious voice, ''How do you know it's him? And why is the church hunting him?''

That's when the young told him everything as they watched the storm on the balcony. The King suddenly ordered. ''Send a messenger to the church and tell them we have their prize trapped; if they want his location, they must help us take the Nethania Kingdom.''

The butler went to leave, but he heard the King's voice. ''Summon my generals. We need to hunt the boy.''

***

[Starfall City, The Avalon Empire]

Emperor Osoric Avalon sat in his study, reading reports about a certain boy he couldn't find since the church decided to attack him. He had many witnesses provide evidence against the church for launching an attack on the boy.

The boy was last spotted in Vassia City, and Osoric summoned the Duke to question him. The Empress Chloe ran into the room and approached him. ''Osoric, I know where the boy is!''

His eyes widened when he heard her speak, ''Where is he?''

She gets a nervous look on her face before explaining. ''Well, he went on a quest to the Rhodora Kingdom to deliver relief supplies to the guild in Karna city, but there was a battle between the defenders and a horde of goblins, orcs, and trolls led by an orc king.''

She pulled some paper from her storage ring and started reading from it. Despite their valiant efforts, the defenders were ultimately defeated, leaving only Archer to face the orc king.

He fought bravely, but he was ultimately overpowered and thrown into the rushing waters of the Eventide River. Now, soldiers familiar with the local terrain speculate that Archer may have survived and washed up in the Southlands.

As soon as they heard the distant boom coming from the south, they turned to face each other. Without a word, they both knew what to do and quickly made their way to the balcony facing southward.

After a three-minute run, they made it; as the two of them were standing there, a bright flash was seen over the giant mountains.

''So he is there, and the rumors were true; the boy is a white dragon; we need to make sure he's okay, but we can't send any troops to search for him due to how many kingdoms they must cross.''

Chloe looked disappointed at the news but remembered something. ''Darling, once we find the boy, we should introduce him to Leira and see if they get along.''

Osoric nodded his head in approval, neither caring what either child said.

***

[Unknown]

"Are you going to tell the boy about the limit you've put on his body? Because he isn't as strong as he likes to think," one voice asked.

''No. There's no need to, as he will be strong enough to reach where he needs to go. I'll return what I took when he reaches the Sovereign Mage Rank so his body won't explode.'' Another voice answered.

"What about his overinflated stats? He reminds me of a glass cannon, and wouldn't it be bad for him when you return it? "

''No, because he would already know how to use his powers, but watching him fumble around is more fun. Something is charming about it. Archer won't die, as he has many beings looking over him. But I'll make it up to him when we finally meet.''

There was a laugh before the first voice replied, ''You lewd goddess. Now you're targeting the boy for your means.''

A happy laugh bellowed as the second voice responded, ''The boy will learn from the defeats and grow stronger. His body will eventually catch up to his stats. It will just take time and a lot of hearts.''

''Makes sense. He would have exploded if you left it unchecked,'' the first voice spoke.