1 Chapter 0: Iron, where is the Prince?

A deep, wavy sounding bass resounds in the small alcove of the Savlirwood forest. Five people are huddled around the small well, looking at the soap-bubble like surface, unsure whether the ritual had succeeded or not. Astrid, queen of this part of the feywild stepped forward to inspect it, together with her husband and King Oberon. Astrid reached into the well, and the bubble bent with her hand for a bit and then retracted to its original state - her hand now unseen through the surface.

She smiled and looked at her son: "Appears everything is set for your departure, have fun little one!"

The prince groaned unwillingly, being called little one in front of his bodyguards, his father and his fathers advisor. Unknowing to him, neither of his bodyguards had experience with.. Well, having a mother, so Zephyr admired the scene, while Iron picked his nose and looked up in a shock when he was told to get ready. He smeared the booger on his pants and pretended to be vigilant. Zepyhr sharply inhaled, not even disappointed anymore, but just sad it had to happen at such a time.

The Queen left the alcove, while the king stayed - obviously holding back his tears with his nose running. Tactful as Iron is, he offered his handkerchief - which he apparently had. Even his twin Zephyr had never seen him use it though. The king just looked back and forth between the handkerchief and Iron, but Irons will remained strong and the king gave in and used it.

The preparations were finished, and Zephyr and the prince are lined up in front of the portal. As the hired meatshield, Iron was supposed to go first - so these two had to live thorugh all stages of grief while Iron got sidetracked. Zepyhr firmly apologized to the prince then said:"Iron, shouldn't the oldest be first? Hurry up!"

Zephyr knew that Iron loved to be called the older brother, so he deemed his chances high to influence Iron to finally go through.

And success! Iron nodded mumbling something along the lines of:"Of course, yes, as an *Older brother* I really should". Surely enough, only the older brother was remotely audible. Without any further hesitation, Iron jumped into the well, his hard earth elemental shell getting lodged into the sides but slowly getting pulled into the portal. Zephyr bowed to the king then jumped into the portal backwards.

The portal was not really a gate to another plane, but rather a tunnel to it, a tunnel downward, so the two had very different experiences on their journey. Iron fell quickly, forms and colors of the kaleidoscope mixing and vanishing, but he remained dead silent - after all, he was the older brother. Zepyhr, as an air elemental had the inherent ability to levitate, but due to his very light weight he fell slower than any of the passengers on this ride anyway.

The prince rushed by Zephyr, tears in his eyes and his scream arriving to Zephyr even after his body did. The elegant black and white robe that Zephyr was wearing wrapped around the princes foot and he swung back and forth, almost touching the tunnels walls. His breath was fast, unstable and wimmering was mixed in, but Zephyrs glide down was much more comfortable and he calmed down.

As Zephyr originally knew, but forgot to mention or take into consideration, his levitation magic lasted for a minute - not longer, so it ran out before the tunnel ended and the prince began rushing downward once again. Zephyr cursed and tried to fall faster, his arms "swimming" through the air, with little to no effect. The prince eventually fell out of the tunnel, and a good bit of time later, Zephyr did too.

After his arrival, Zephyr looked around for his companions, finding Iron easily. A guy with an entire aluminium bar on his chest was hard to overlook in the high noon sun. The prince however was not within sight.

So Zephyr asked:"Iron, where is the prince?", Iron looked confused and pointed to his right, then his left, then turned around. He then uttered an: "Uuuh". Zephyr still not panicked, tried to ask again, but this time with his hands in front of his mouth, almost like sending a prayer to the goddess of luck. "Iron, WHERE is the prince? The prince we were tasked to protect?" Iron, still looking around tried to pretend he was calm, trying to stall:"Oh, riiight. The prince. The prince of the feywild, the prince we were told to protect, that prince?"

At that point Zephyr already knew that the prince was gone, the idea whether or not to ask if the prince even arrived here did not come to his mind.