Reverse Chronicles

Beyond Siane

    I reached out my hand in front of my face to cover the sunshine from flashing to my eyes, as we slowly made our way to the eastern part of Jyria. It was an awkward morning. Franz wanted me to ride with him on Mikah but with the events that transpired last night, I could not, in any way, accept his offer. He rode in front of me leading the way.

    Riding with him on Mikah was Keith, who was surprisingly sluggish. Clearly, he is not a morning person. He quietly snored as he leaned against Franz's back covering his eyes with a blindfold. The hyper-energetic pupil I saw yesterday has utterly vanished, though I admit, seeing this part of Keith was charming.

    We made our way to the eastern part of Jyria, where armories, brothels, and auberges lined every street. I saw men and women in armor, some in steel, some in leather, and some in other materials I have not seen before. They were lined up before a well-decorated knight, who was pointing them out as they left.

    "We're almost there," Franz said as he turned to see me. "Daniel must be in this part of the city."

    As we went further in the busy street, some knights and soldiers called Franz. There were even blacksmiths who went out of their shops to wave to him. Women from the brothels, dressed promiscuously, came close to us striking a sexy pose.

    "Want to sheath your sword, Franz?" one said while caressing her hips. "It will be a lot of fun." Do these girls know him? Had Franz visited these brothels before?

    "My sword is already sheathed, Ma'am. Thank you for your concern. I must be on my way," Franz replied in a monotonous tone. He refused their offer quite suspiciously. Did he just do that because Keith and I are here? He must have known those women. They would not approach him if he did not knew them. Or is he just very popular in this part of the city? Wait. What am I thinking? I need to focus and find Daniel, that is the only thing I should think of right now.

    "Are we there yet?" Keith woke up removing his blindfold. His stomach growled as he looked around. "I'm hungry."

    "We're almost there," Franz answered pulling the reins "we can eat breakfast at one of the auberges."

    "Great, 'cause I'm famished." Keith levitated out of the horse and looked for the nearest eatery. "That place seems nice," he pointed to a restaurant that had tables and umbrellas outside. It only had a few customers.

    As we approached the place, the smell of waffles wafted in the air. I could also sense bacon and eggs deep frying. The restaurant had a sign, "Deli," Keith excitedly said. "So it's an Ardurnian restaurant?"

    "Ardurnian?"

    "Deli is an Ardurnian word," Keith smiled at me. "It means savory."

    "What is Ardunia?"

    "What? You don't know where that is?" Keith shockingly smirked as we continued walking. "Ardurne is the archipelagic nation to the south of Siane."

    I see. There are still a lot of things I don't know about this world. The headmistress said that we are going east. "What is to the east of this nation?"

    "Well," Keith smiled again, "I'm going to let Franz answer that question for you." He went off hovering towards the restaurant as quickly as he could.

    "East of Siane are the free cities of Caldonia. It's where I'm from," he smiled reservedly and we made our way to Deli together. The place had a minimalistic oriental design. There are seashell decors that hand on the walls. The chairs looked like they were made out of coconut wood. The flooring was wood, which made it feel like it was another country when we came in. Net hammocks also hang from the ceiling with palm designs that gave off a tropical vibe.

    Keith sat at the largest table waving us to go to him. A waiter dressed in a red tunic, with a golden sash pinned at his right shoulder and hanged towards his left hip, stood beside the table carrying a piece of paper and a fountain pen. We sat at the table across Keith gathering every eye inside the room towards us.

    "May I take your order, miss?" the waiter approached me. "Here is our menu," he waved his hands in front of me and a magical list appeared out of thin air. The list contained names and words that I have not ever heard before. Kutsintata, pinirishvi, what are these words?

    "Umm... do you have a recommendation?" I smiled in confusion.

    "For breakfast, I recommend our breakfast set. It is  a set of dishes, Pinirishvi, the tropical salad, with Passion fruit tea."

    "I'll have that set, please." I answered.

    "I'm also going to have that," Franz said after I spoke.

    "Please wait for a little while," the waiter waltzed back to a double door and sounds of beating and frying started to be heard from the kitchen.

    As we waited, I wanted to learn more about Reversia. I got the map that Marcus gave to me and laid it on the table. I flattened the edges and pointed at Croverre plain on the map. "This is Croverre plain, from there, travelled here to Jyria, which is part of the Siane kingdom. Is Croverre plain a part of Siane?"

    "Of course," Keith stood "this is the Siane kingdom," he outlined a part of the map using his magic. "I'll use light magic to draw the borders. The Siane kingdom extends from the plains and forests of the west, to the mountains of the north, and from the riverlands of the east to the Sagittan peninsula to the south." He explained while drawing the borders.

    "Can you tell me what is east of Jyria?"

    "Jyria is the easternmost city of the kingdom, to the east of Jyria is..." Keith was drawing the borders when Franz interrupted.

    "The free cities of Caldia. Caldia is a country ruled by the coalition of the seven cities," Franz said as Keith finished drawing the Caldian borders.

    "Lyane, the nearest city, Copre, Toulsee, Arfth, Mulne, Arbre, and Syracre, my home city."

    "What lies to the west, north, and south of Jyria?"

    "To the south, as I told you earlier, is Ardurnia, an archipelago. To the west is the Crozen empire. To the northwest is  Thracys. To the north is Fontana. Other nations smaller nations lie between Siane and the other nations and territories lie farther to the east, too." As Keith finished explaining, the waiter opened the kitchen double door and with him are other waiters who carried dishes.

    As they all approached our table, I rolled the map and put it back inside my receptacle. Dishes were served in our table and their diverse, heart-warming aroma wafted which made my stomach growl. We helped ourselves stopping only for small side talk. The dishes were delicious and truly savory. We paid for the food which were surprisingly cheap.

    We continued on our way on to find Daniel. Franz helped me up on Mikah. The horse whined as I rode, but Franz guided the reins on foot. Keith subtly levitated behind us making sure not to gather any unnecessary attention. It was late morning and the streets became truly busy. This part of the city, unlike what was near the institute, is filled with knights and soldiers. There were no merchants stalls, only the shops that lined the street.

    "We turn right on the next fork and a left to the next," Franz said looking back at me and Keith.

    "I finally get to see it, eh." Keith sparked an excited mood. "The Knights of Siane, defenders of the people, protector of the crown, overseers of justice, and keepers of peace. I wonder if you truly live up to your name," Keith sarcastically implied, but Franz was unfazed.

    "You know nothing, Keith." Franz turned to him and smiled blankly.

    Turning right at a fork, then a left at the next intersection. We arrived at what appeared to be a fortress. Large steel gates opened halfway accommodating the knights that went in and out of the structure. It totally looked like a building from the medieval era. Different from the other important buildings in the city which have either a stroke of romantic or classical architecture, the fort looks as if it was built even before the rest of the city existed.

    "This is the Jyrian Headquarters of the Knights of Siane," Franz grabbed the reins forward as we entered the building. "I'm sure your friend is in the archery range."