Heavy is the Head that Wears the Solemn Crown

Five - The Soldier and the Traveler

Techno

Techno rode his horse through the parts of the empire furthest from the capital. Techno was well-versed in geography, so he knew this specific area was known as the Permafrost Duchy. If he wasn't sure why it was nicknamed that before, he could understand now that his horse was crunching against the silvery green shards of grass while the sun beat down on him. He wasn't far enough south that the summer season actually meant overbearing heat. Techno didn't care about the temperature, though. He was making good time getting to Pogtopia.

He was supposed to be traveling with the military caravan. He had rode ahead a few days before. Techno wasn't a particularly social person. He could tolerate people, but it drained him. He had enough to deal with. Alex and Steve had followed him along for his journey. They had not stopped talking, not even when Techno had been trying to go to sleep. His horse, Carl, had stared at him weirdly as Techno yelled at the gods who inhabited his mind. Another reason was simply that he was part of his own unit. He could travel with the caravan if he wanted to support the unity of the Antarctic Empire, but he didn't care so much about how Pogtopia viewed his homeland. He didn't even want to fight in this war. It was Alex and Steve who had manipulated him into doing this for their own sick amusement. Techno would simply arrive before the rest of the army. Pogtopia would have to be okay with that.

"Techno! Look over there! Is that a person?" Alex said, floating above Techno's head, pressing her chin onto his shoulder. Techno swatted her face away, but she had disappeared by the time his gloved hand reached where it should have been. Techno pulled the reins on Carl to slow his horse down into a simple canter. He allowed his dark eyes to find the source of Alex's curiosity. True to her word, a hooded figure was sitting against the side of the road, their back pushed into the wooden signpost. A creature was curled up near the figure. It was obviously the person's mount, but Techno couldn't quite tell what it was from the distance they were at. It wasn't a horse.

"I believe that the creature near him is a drake. They are a species that crossed over from the dimension known as the End millions of years ago. They were originally dragons which meant they were much larger and had wings. Over the millions of years that they remained in this dimension, they have adapted to being much smaller creatures without their signature wings or mystical breaths. They are still rare to find, and even harder to tame. I am surprised that this person could make a drake into their mount. They might have some End heritage," Steve informed Techno. That was one of the good things about having Alex and Steve with him. As deities, they knew a lot about the world. No matter how much Techno studied, he would never surpass either of the twin gods. They would always be more experienced than Techno could ever hope to be.

"Excuse me, traveler, might I inquire what you are doing resting at this sign?" Techno said as he came to the wooden post. The person startled to attention, their head turning to face Techno. It was a young man. He had pale skin that seemed unused to travel. His hair was split down the middle- one side being ebony black and the other being as white as snow. He possessed heterochromia in his eyes, as well. One of his eyes was ruby red and the other was an emerald green. He was a lanky fellow with long limbs wrapped in beggar's clothes covered by a dark cloak that seemed much higher quality than the rest of his clothes.

"Oh my," Alex said. She walked around the side of the horse. She leaned down in front of the young man. He, obviously, couldn't see her. She took full advantage of this to look around his face, getting all in his personal space. Her hands came up to touch his face. She ran her fingers along his skin before bringing her fingers up to the part of his hair that split in half. She seemed completely fascinated. Techno had never seen her gravitate towards something other than violence and bloodshed like this.