Ria, Thalleous and Igneous arrive at a river.
' Thalleous, are you sure this is the right way? There's no road leading to the city. And Igneous did mention on the way that Magnorites can't swim.'
Thalleous looks at Ria, a bit surprised she even listened to Igneous at all. Igneous was talking for the whole journey, he wished he could go deaf.
' Oh, this is the right way, alright. Just wait.'
The three of them stand by the water.
Ria grows impatient. ' Ugh! We must have taken a wrong turn or something. Come on, let's go.' She turns to leave.
Something finally emerges from the water.
' Ooh, a guardian!' Igneous walks to the edge curiously.
Ria turns back. ' Guardian?'
' These are the oldest species in all of Ardonia, even older than the Glacians.'
The guardian looks at Thalleous, who nods. It dissapears under the water.
' Where'd it go?' Igneous asks.
A bridge made of prismarine begins to form.
Thalleous walks over, followed by Timber, Igneous and Ria.
~*~
' So, this is Ataraxia?' Ria looks around at the small Ardoni village.
' It's a bit smaller than I expected, but nice to see an Ardoni city for once.'
They follow Thalleous to the edge, and gasp in awe at the view.
A bunch of floating islands were connected together by bridges or vines, and Ardoni were living on the islands full of plant life.
~*~
Ria and Igneous follow Thalleous through the amazing place. They pass by a Nestoris, Kaltaris and Mendoris arguing.
' Their attacks were just the beginning, Zulius! The Voltaris are indeed returning and we need an army to face them!' The Nestoris Ardoni says.
The Kaltaris, Zulius, turns to him. ' Did you not hear? We have been gathering Ardoni and are attacking the Voltaris within a fortnight. They will threaten the clans no more!'
' This is bigger than that! We need to be ready to defend all of Ardonia!'
The Mendoris laughs. ' You exaggerate.'
Zulius sighs. ' I'm disappointed you will not join us, Hubris. Let us go, Hadion.'
Zulius and the Mendoris, Hadion, leave. Hubris looks down and sighs.
Thalleous walks up to him. ' Hubris, is it?'
Hubris turns around. ' Yes, what do you want?'
' What did that Kaltaris mean when he said that the Ardoni are attacking the Voltaris within a fortnight?'
' The masters have decided to gather as many Ardoni warriors as possible to Mount Velgrin. That's where Thalleous Sendaris said the Voltaris were.'
' With attacking the Voltaris, I agree, but the Voltaris are much stronger than we think they are. I don't think that's going to be enough to wipe them out.'
' Well, I tried warning them, but they won't listen.'
' Everyone has let down their guard ever the since the Great War ended.' Thalleous sighs.
Igneous nudges Ria. ' Hey, why don't we look around while your friend is busy talking over there?'
' I don't think it's a good idea to leave, Igneous...' Ria turns around, but Igneous has already wandered off.
She looks back at Thalleous, who is still busy talking to Hubris. She runs to catch up with Igneous.
' Say, are you a good fighter?' Thalleous asks Hubris.
' I guess I'm about average.'
' What if we start a resistance group against the Voltaris? We could recruit anyone who agrees with us.'
' That's a great idea! Count me in.'
' Great! Now...' Thalleous turns around and sees that Ria and Igneous are gone. ' Oh, crap.'
' Where did your companions go?'
' Talk to you later, Hubris!' Thalleous rushes off to find them.
' Sure, umm...' Hubris realises he didn't catch his name. But Thalleous is already miles away from him. He shrugs and walks off.
~*~
Igneous and Ria wander around.
' Thalleous is going to be so mad when he finds out...' Ria murmurs.
Igneous doesn't hear her, and continues walking. He stops at one of the buildings. ' Huh, this place looks interesting...'
' I don't think we should just go...'
Igneous walks into the building before Ria can finish. ' Igneous, wait up!' she runs after him.
They enter what looks like a blacksmith. Ria looks at the weapons lying around, and bumps into Igneous. ' Ow!'
' Have you come for fresh tools, or do you require repairs for your own?' they hear a familiar voice.
Ria looks up and sees a Sendaris Ardoni working on a sword with a hammer.
' Thalleous? What are you doing here?' Ria asks, confused.
' Thalleous is my brother.' The Sendaris turns around. He looks almost exactly like Thalleous, just his markings are a slightly darker. ' I am Galleous. Although, most in the city should know that…'
' Oh, sorry...' Ria rubs the back of her head, embarrassed. ' I didn't know Thalleous had any surviving brothers.'
' Yeah, I get that a lot.' Galleous turns back and strikes the tool with his hammer. ' He never spoke of me, nor I him. While he is out there adventuring and exploring, I just live the "mundane" life.'
Suddenly, Thalleous runs in. ' There you two are! Where did you go? I've been looking everywhere-'
He stops when he sees Galleous.
There's an awkward moment of silence between them.
Thalleous finally speaks up. ' Hey, brother... '
Galleous turns his back towards his brother and continues working without responding.
Thalleous turns to leave. ' Come on, you two are in big trouble for wandering off.'
Ria gulps as she follows Thalleous. Igneous follows closely behind her.
They exit the blacksmith.
' How could you two wander off like that? You had me worried!' Thalleous scolds them.
' Igneous asked me to follow him.' Ria pushes the blame to Igneous.
' Hey! I have a short lifespan, remember? I tend to be a little impatient because of that.'
Thalleous shakes his head. ' Just, tell me next time you walk off.'
' You never told me you had a surviving brother, Thalleous,' Ria questions him.
' We... don't agree on much...' Thalleous sighs. ' We never really got along well.'
' Now what?' Igneous asks.
' I got important stuff to take care of. You two can stay here while I'm away, you'll be safe here.' Thalleous walks off.
' Alright...' Ria nods.