The Alrevia Order [Elisop]

#3 Earth and the wild flower

A week passed after the young Carl was back in the capital after the expedition, everything was going well until a letter arrived at the house with his name on it. Surprising news, something had apparently happened and an emergency meeting had been scheduled with each captain and vice-captain of the three divisions present.

His emerald eyes quickly scanned the rest of the contents of the letter and he concluded two things. First, because of the position of his rank, he would have to go on another journey and to another country on top of that. Second, it didn't just involve the Knights of the Rose, but also some of the other two units as well as a handful of mages.

Strange. Alrevia was known for its military force of knights and mages so it was rare to see both units in such large numbers for an operation. This one must have been really important. Anyway, there was no point in him wasting any more time trying to figure it out, he may have been a nobleman, the eldest son of a dukedom, however, he was just another swordsman amongst many others in the army.

For now, the only thing he had to do was probably to go and pack his things. This trip didn't look like it would be easy and he suspected he would be gone for quite a while. The day of departure was in two weeks and Demi would surely stick around him all that time at the mansion when she would learn the situation. Things were already looking complicated and it was still far from the day when the expedition would begin.

In the end, amidst spending time with his mother, putting up with his older sister whining about how much she would miss him, and preparing for his departure, Aesop didn't even notice the time passing. Those fourteen days were gone in the blink of an eye and it was finally time to go join the rest of the troops. He was already wearing his training clothes when he arrived, along with his sword and a large travel bag.

As soon as he set foot on the hard, firm ground of the forest where the gathering point was located, a familiar voice called out to him in the distance.

"Joseph, you should avoid making a scene." he said dryly.

The blue-eyed male ignored his friend's comment and simply sketched a wide smile in response.

"Aesop, glad to see you're here."

"The entire Rose division is here after all, I should be the one surprised by your presence instead. I thought you didn't like this kind of lowly duty."

"Indeed, though, this expedition seemed particularly interesting..."

The blond haired young man raised an eyebrow, curious as to the meaning behind his friend's words, who seemed to know more about what they were going to do unlike him. Was there something he had missed?

"Oh, Captain Vera said groups would be formed again. I went to inquire and we are still in the same one, it also appears that two more people will be joining..."

The knight's mind stopped on a detail, who on earth was this "we" Joseph was referring to...?

"Aesop!"

Oh. Forget it. He had just gotten his answer as he saw a trio approaching them. Eli Herwood, Naib Behamfil and Chloe Nair. What a terrible coincidence, was it a trick of fate that enjoyed messing with him? Hell, he hoped at least that the last members of their group would be more quiet than these three. The trip was really going to be horribly long now and the brunette was already glaring at him on top of that.

Unfortunately, karma seemed to hit him with every passing minute.

"Carl. What an honor to see you here once again..."

A young man with hair just as black as his eyes and wearing a midnight blue shirt smirked at him. The male had half of his face scarred and it was a sign that this was indeed the person Aesop was thinking of.