114 Geography
"So Helena and Grace where did you learn to fight?..." Scarlet asked them as we all sat together on the floor as a group.
"Ahhh you know... basic self-defence and stuff... and going out on hunts." They both replied.
"What's the geography like here?.." I asked wondering world is like.
"Well, we are in a Northern landmass called Amias..... In the centre are the human Territories.... that consists of many races.... to the north we have the Dwarf and Giant Territories and the vast Shiver Mountains and the frozen Sea. We have one larger neighbouring militaristic continent ruled by the Clergy of the Sun. To the Far East is the extremely large eastern continent and islands a landmass rife with warring kingdoms and warlords. To our west is the dark isles it's a large chain of islands covered in a perpetual thick mist extremely treacherous to travel through it's almost entirely unexplored...." Ashley explained.
"The Elven land we're from is in the south!" Helen added.
"Yes to the south is the Elven Continent of Isnelen.... travel there is impossible... Krakens and various sea creatures and weird weather make travelling there by boat and air impossible." Ashley explained.
"Yeah... the whole continent is protected with weather globs and magical Pearls..... Only Elven ships can travel freely through the defences unharmed...." Grace explained.
"So how did you guys get here?.." I asked.
"We come from the smaller Elven cities on this continent," Helen explained.
"Yes..... House Sunwalker and Starseeker are two nearby kingdoms to our south closer to the coast, the houses themselves control a small piece of the land pretty self-sufficient.
"Wait so you two are princesses?.." Ashley gasped.
"No..... technically we are far from the line of the throne....." They answered.
"Hmmm.... interesting..... And for Elves both women and men are treated equally right?.." Ashley asked.
"Yes.... the next in line for House Starseeker my cousin Phelorna Starseeker even though she has a younger brother," Helen explained.
"Ohhh I see that's cool," Ashley replied.
"How about the four schools?.." I asked.
"Well.... so in the human territories in the centre is the Grand city of Xoria, a huge city... the city itself is the size of a kingdom. The four great schools are located North, East, South and West of Xoria. Arcadia is situated to the south so we deal with any and all conflicts south of Xoria, Aspa is to the North, Eshia is to the East and Zessia to the west." Ashley carried on explaining.
"You've been around a lot Ashley?.." Helen asked.
"Yeah we've travelled many places," Scarlet answered.
"Yes, We generally tend to stay away from the warring eastern kingdoms, we don't want to pick sides and politics is messy. Most of our jobs are in Amias but we have completed some in the Isnelen...." Ashley answered.
"How did you get there if it's so well defended??..." I asked.
"We were taken there by an Arch Druid..... Even Paul can't open portals or teleport there..... Anyone who tries end up in a ransom location from where they came." Ashley answered.
"Yes, only Elves can travel freely and safely to and from there," Grace added.
"Is it true that there's a portal to the Feylands there?..." Jay asked completely fascinated.
"Yes, there is a Gateway there that leads to Ifellume because it is located in the same spot in the Feylands." Grace answered.
"Same spot?..." I questioned.
"Yes.... the Feylands are near identical to here... the continents are the same but also different....so in Isnelen the main city is Iyfeserin. In the Feylands where Iyfeserin should be is Ifellume." Grace answered.
"Ohhh I see.... is there something instead of Atlantis there then?.." I asked.
"Ohhh there's defiantly a mirror copy of landscapes and continents.... but cities could have copies but Atlantis probably doesn't," Helen answered.
"So are all the schools protecting Xoria?.." I asked noticing that we seem to be situated around it.
"Yes.... generally once graduated all the top students will be incorporated into Xoria Society..... All the strongest students will become the Kings Personal Guard... exceptional students will be incorporated into the Xoria Army." Ashley explained.
"I wonder what it looks like..." I asked in wonder.
"In a few years is the Grand Magical games.... it occurs once every four years.... that's when Xoria will be open to the public and schools," Ashley answered.
"Yes.... only Royal families or Families with high standing are allowed to set foot in Xoria." Helen added.
"God.... that sounds like a horrible place...." I instinctively replied imagining it's full of spoilt rich kids.
"Yes.... filled with privileged families believing that because of their family name they are 'above' us commoners," Ashley explained.
"Yup.... pray that you don't catch the attention of one... it's bound to spell trouble." Scarlet warned.
"Yes, even Paul watches what he says and does when it comes into contact with a Noble of Xoria." Ashley added.
"Yes even though it's a kingdom of stunning beauty it's also filled with ugliness and corruption," Helen added.
"You've been there?.." I asked.
"Of course, Helen and Grace are one of the great Elven houses." Jay smiled.
"Yeah, we don't normally go there, we only went to see the grand magical games," Grace replied.
"Ohhh which one was the one did you watch last?" Scarlet asked.
"The most recent one two years ago." Helen smiled.
"Yes, and you were so amazing!!! Too bad you couldn't carry the whole school." Helen replied.
"Ahh, it's alright, doing my best is all that counts!" Scarlet smiled.
"Jay, have you ever been to one?" Ashley asked Jay.
"No, my family wasn't rich enough to buy tickets, I was only able to read it in the papers," Jay replied.
"Ohhh, that's a shame. Well, I'll be sure to get you a seat on the next one." Ashley smiled.
"Thanks! That would be awesome!" Jay smiled.
"How about you Daisy?.." Scarlet asked.
"Yeah a few, I missed the most recent one though.... sometimes the church gets a generous donation.... and sometimes we don't...." Daisy replied looking a little down.
"What's it like?" I asked curiously.
"It's an absolute sight, seeing all the school together friendly competing with one another, seeing the strongest Arcanum users battling it out for the pride of the school," Grace said with a giant smile.
"I just like fighting against the strongest students in the other school." Scarlet laughed.
"Is it just duelling?.." I asked curiously imagining what it could even be like.
"It's a range of challenges to push us to the limit but the final event the one everyone looks forward to is the direct 1 vs 1 duel." Scarlet smiled.
"Yeah the games consist of four events, the first three only one S-Ranked student can participate per event, the first is always a situation where someone will need to be saved, the second is a show of raw strength, and the third is a fight against creatures and as mentioned earlier the final one is a duel between the school where they pitch students against each other," Ashley explained.
"Yup and Scarlet have constantly deafened all her opponents in a one on one duel!" Helen smiled.
"I don't like to brag but yes, I am undefeated." She chuckled.
"How about Travis and Paul?" I asked curiously.
"Travis is ranked in the middle maybe 5th or 6th overall, and Paul has never participated," Scarlet replied.
"Why hasn't he?.." I asked wondering why.
"As he quotes, 'I can't be bothered, I don't need to prove myself to anyone'" Scarlet said impersonating Paul's voice and carefree demeanour and air quotations.
"I mean, that does sound a little like him." I chuckled.
"Do you think he will ever compete?" Daisy asked looking hopeful.
"Hmmm, hard to say, Maybe he's found a reason to." She laughed giving me a sly wink causing me to quickly look around hoping no one else noticed.
"Hmmm, I see, maybe we might see the Legendary Black Dragon Slayer final make an appearance." Jay laughed.
"Ohhhhh wow this year must be special," Helen said noticing everything.
"Ohhh I'll defiantly save up for tickets this year!!!" Daisy yelled in excitement.
"I mean he did participate in the Freshman Celebration this year," Ashley added with a giant grin.
"Guys, there's nothing going on between us!" I insisted to everyone but judging by their reaction they still didn't believe me.
"Sure....." they all replied with the biggest grin on their faces.
