New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Astaroth made record time running back toward Bastion city, using spells left like Wind Walking, Propel, Sky Steps, and many more to manoeuvre inside the dense forest. When he reached the city, he was let right inside by the guards and jumped onto the rooftops.

Among the people that saw him suddenly jump on the rooftops, the natives looked at him with uncertainty, since he was passing by too fast to be recognizable. But the players looked at him go, and thought it was suddenly ok to do the same, and some agility-based players suddenly tried following behind.

But as soon as their feet hit the tiles of a roof, guards on patrol suddenly swarmed them, forcing them back to the ground, some of them even getting fined for disturbing the peace, when they became obstinate toward the guards.

Being on the rooftops itself wasn’t illegal in Bastion city. But going around, stepping on everyone’s house, like they owned the place, certainly was.

Astaroth, though, was above this rule, and zoomed across the rooftops, making his way toward the inner city. Once he reached the original walls, he vaulted over them, not even bothering about taking the gates.

Every guard in the city had been circulated a picture of Astaroth, so they now knew who he was and what he looked like. So when he jumped over the inner walls, the guards saluted toward him as he flew overhead.

It only took Astaroth a few minutes to be back in the palace, at this pace, and he rushed over to the throne room. He half expected the meeting to have been called off by Phoenix when he arrived there, but everyone seemed to still be present.

Phoenix was directing some servants to put the room back in order, and when she saw him get back, she flew off the handle.

Stomping her feet in his direction, she started shouting.

“What in the hell is wrong with you?! You could have hurt people with your Aether blast alone! Why did you even go that far before trying to understand the situation?!”

Astaroth lifted his hands in peace, opening his mouth to answer. But before he could, the air was blown out of his lungs a bit, as Phoenix delivered a quick punch to his stomach.

“Oof! Hey! I was just defending someone I consider family… I would do the same for anyone else I consider the same way, and that includes you.” .

Phoenix looked at him with anger in her eyes.

“You need to stop acting like this. You are the king of this kingdom. Think about the political implications of attacking a member of the mages’ guild. What if they decide to take away their support? Who will maintain the magic shields on the city then? You?”

Astaroth’s heart dropped. Having to maintain the shields would take all his time, and he would no longer be able to go out and explore, or level up.

This was the worst possible scenario in his mind.

“Aberon will fix this, I swear,” he promised, his tone going a tone whiter.

“No! YOU need to fix this. This is YOUR problem. After this meeting, you better make sure Lord Argos is still in top shape, and that he is satisfied with your apologies or whatever you do to make him happy.”

Astaroth’s face dropped. He dreaded being forced to apologize, especially to someone who he thought had deserved what had happened.

But thinking back on his actions, he could tell he had put Stellar Woodlands in a tough spot. He needed to ensure he fixed his own mistake, and not make trouble for others.

From the corner of the room, Prince Nalafein and ex-court mage Gelum’vire were watching this unfold, with a mix of emotions.

On one hand, Gelum’vire was floored by the power level Astaroth had shown, given he had been present when the young man had been given his coming of age by Lady Anulo. The level difference between then and now was like night and day.

On the other hand, Nalafein was impressed by how Queen Phoenix ruled with a grip tighter than a mechanical vice. He was most certain Astaroth could overpower her at any moment, but instead, the king didn’t seem like he dared go against her words.

This could be a terrible thing if the queen’s intentions had been bad. But given the situation, and how prone to making mistakes Astaroth was, this situation was ideal.

Their dynamic would seem like a weakness to any other ruler that saw it, given how patriarchal this world was, but not to Nalafein. In his eyes, Queen Phoenix was like the brain of the kingdom, while Astaroth was the representation of its strength.

The young prince had seen Leon fight. Leon was a mythical grade powerhouse, that he hadn’t seen in a rough position ever. But he had also learned of how Astaroth was the one to make him this powerful, and that he had also beaten him when the Beastman was still a semi-legendary grade.

If one were to evaluate the true value of Astaroth to this kingdom, aside from his title of king, they would easily understand that he was the hammer that could drop on his enemies at a moment’s notice. Astaroth was the face of their might.

He was excited about what such a person wanted to discuss concerning the Ash Elf kingdom, since power held sway everywhere across the continent. A flicker of hope reignited inside Nalafein, his hopes of taking back his lands coming back to life.

After getting scolded by Phoenix, Astaroth helped set the room right, since he felt guilty for blasting it aside in the first place. The servants all around him tried to make him take a seat, such menial work being underneath a king’s station, but he ignored them.

Once the table chairs and people were all back in their original positions, minus Argos Thornwood, who was god knows where, with Aberon, the meeting was good to resume. Phoenix cleared her throat, getting everyone’s attention.

“Ahem! We can now go back to why you were all called here. Since everyone is now present, let us begin the discussion on who to send over in the Ash Elf kingdom, to help Prince Nalafein retake his kingdom.”