The Alrevia Order [Elisop]

#1 The Sunflower and the Rose

The wind was blowing and the birds were singing on the branches of the oaks in the forest, curiously observing a group of individuals from their perch. About thirty or forty were they. All of them were dressed rather unusually, at least, it was obvious by looking at them that they were not peasants or merchants. No, they looked more like... an army.

They were separated into groups of about five and then scattered around the area in a random fashion. They didn't seem to be on a mission at the moment. There was however one detail that stood out in this natural landscape, a huge ivory tower. This one was literally in the middle of the mass of trees and several people dressed in robes were coming out of it.

They didn't all wear the same nevertheless, each one had a different shade but the same ones always came back, crimson, midnight blue, amber, empire green and jet black. The same could also be said for the other people scattered around, those wore shirts under leather jackets, these also varied between royal blue, red and ginger. But the main thing that stood out was the sword hanging at their waist, knights.

Suddenly, a young woman with medium-length brown hair and a bun cleared her throat among the crowd, all suddenly shutting up to hear what she had to say. The stark silence showed that she was not just any individual, not to mention the fact that a bright red cloak and golden epaulets jutted out from her shoulders and gave her a dignified aura.

"This excursion may not be dangerous, but as a precaution, each group will consist of four knights and one mage, regardless of which division you are in. Disperse."

Well, the groups changed again to follow the commander's orders, the mages also coming to disperse to join the knights. One of them attracted particular attention with his snow-white hair and blue eyes that seemed as cold as ice. The man in the blue robe was Joseph Desaulniers, a water mage and son of Duke Desaulniers, one of the most important figures in the kingdom.

The male walked with a proud and confident stride, the yellow ribbon in his hair twirling as his foot moved in front of the other. It was obvious that his attention was completely focused on a certain person, a young blond man sitting on the trunk of a tree away from the rest, his blond hair tied in a low ponytail and his emerald eyes staring expressionlessly at the ground. He was dressed in a red shirt indicating he was in the same division as the woman from earlier, his sword hanging by his side.

"Aesop!" he called out.

The blond man snapped out of his thoughts to raise his head and look at the man approaching him with a big smile.

"Joseph. I didn't expect to see you on this expedition."

"Claude forced it on me a bit so I could gain more experience, but I don't regret anything now that I've found out you're here too!"

The green-eyed male smiled faintly at the enthusiasm the other showed. Aesop Carl, eldest son of the duchy Carl, who has a gift for producing valiant knights. He had first met Joseph when he was younger as their parents were close and they had quickly come to be playmates over the visits of one. The blue-eyed man was probably one of the few people he could feel comfortable with.

To be honest, he didn't want to come at first. Unfortunately, his older sister had ordered him to attend under the pretext that she would otherwise get rid of his art supplies. According to her, he was spending too much time loitering in their mansion and was in dire need of some fresh air. Also, the commander happened to be their father's former disciple so she seemed to be constantly keeping an eye on him.

He felt like a caged animal.

"Aren't you with anyone? We could look for three other people to form a team if you want."