48 The Commander

When Winston came to Emre's room that morning any sort of emotion that he had regarding the changed appearance of Emre was hidden under a mask of calm indifference. Emre couldn't help but want to pry into his mind to know what the old man was thinking but held back any pestering questions.

He washed up and since they were seeing the Commander today, he wore his armor and asked Idris through telepathy if he was doing the same. With confirmation, he didn't feel odd about being the only one wearing armor out.

He tied his hair up in the usual half-tie except for a few strands of hair that draped over his shoulders. His white and gold half-plate armor looked quite nice on him once he checked himself out in the mirror. In this room, he felt he could stand facing a corner and blend in perfectly.

After eating breakfast he secured his sword and dagger on his belt before exiting the room. He only had to wait a moment before Idris left his room. The guards on duty, different from the guards the night before, were having a hard time hiding their surprise and curiosity with their silent stares.

Idris exiting was wearing a similar get-up aside from being the opposite color. His armor was black, the breastplate, bracers, shin guards, and all were lined with golden trim. His long black hair was let loose, his shorter bangs in the front made Emre wonder what he would look like with a Chinese bun or a high ponytail.

Especially with his long pointed ears and light-colored eyes, he would certainly look good either way. And coupled with his black armor, cold countenance, and strong aura? If Emre didn't know him he would avoid him for fear he'd get beaten up but would also want to stay just to feast his eyes.

'What?' Idris lifted a brow under Emre's searching eyes.

'I want to put your hair up.' Emre answered.

Idris looked surprised but also interested at the same time. 'Why?'

'I think it'd look good.'

Emre fished into his pocket but pulled a tie out and looked at Idris with expectant eyes.

Letting out a sigh, Idris turned back around and opened the door, disregarding the presence of everyone else. "Alright."

Emre followed him in the room and glanced around. The room was not unlike his own, mostly white aside from the fact that the detail color was not gold but black instead. The setup was basically the same so Emre followed without much glancing around.

Idris sat down in a chair and patiently waited as Emre began to gather his hair together from behind. It was soft and silky, pleasant to touch. It didn't take long and Emre tried his best not to pull anything too hard as he put everything up in a high ponytail. Once he was satisfied he neatly tied it up and circled around to take a look at his handy work.

With his hair up in the back and his longer bangs in the front, he really did look like one of those handsome guys from Chinese dramas. Emre smiled, happy at how it looked.

"Perfect! Okay, come look." Emre stated reaching out a hand to help Idris up.

Idris grabbed his hand and pulled himself up before striding toward the mirror. He took a look and quite honestly, he didn't mind it. He even felt that he looked quite good. With Emre hovering beside him he couldn't help but note that with their outfits and opposite colors they looked like they were definitely intending to match.

"Do you think they got these armor sets on purpose?" Idris wondered out loud.

"Of course they did. I wonder where they bought them though…" Emre responded.

"We'll have to ask later."

Emre nodded as the two of them turned away to exit the room. He wondered if anyone else would be seeing them in the foyer. He knew Breton and Ragan were going to be there to go with them but he didn't know if anyone else was coming.

Either way, their appearances alarmed some of the passing servants but they were easy to ignore as they continued without hesitation. Winston and Reanil ended up also having to ignore the inquisitive looks coming from their peers as they hurried after the two dragons.

Walking down the steps, they immediately spotted a few people gathered in the main area. Breton and Ragan were talking to one another while Killan, Gerrar, and Conin were in a small group chatting.

Conin seemed to notice them first and Emre could see the 'o' shape Conin's mouth made just under the hood. The others noticed shortly after and looked toward them with their own stunned looks. Conin quickly parted from the others to meet them at the end of the steps.

"You both look great," Conin said happily. "Are these your true human appearances?"

"Yep," Emre answered with a smile. "And as long as you guys aren't flaunting it, our identities aren't a worry anymore." He made sure his voice was loud enough for the others to hear as well.

Without thinking about it, Emre reached his hand out and gave Conin's head a pat. Conin didn't mind and in fact, reached forward to grab a strand of Emre's hair just to feel.

"Are you coming with us to meet the Commander?" Emre asked.

"Yeah, the Commander is staying on the training grounds right now so Ragan recommended we come with, to observe while you are talking," Conin answered.

"What about Nalia?"

"She should be down here soon."

Emre nodded as they started forward to talk to the others. Ragan placed his hands on his hips.

"You couldn't be more noticeable." He commented.

"You look so different! I almost didn't realize it was you, Emre." Gerrar exclaimed.

Emre and Idris were promptly pummeled with a few compliments before Nalia made her way down. She seemed just as shocked to see their appearances but got over it when Emre asked if she could teach him to braid. She agreed, seeming less nervous than she usually was toward him.

Servants brought all their horses over, as they were going to be traveling on horseback rather than in carriages. Due to this, the travel was quicker than it would have been. They went quickly through the roads, surrounded by guards also on horseback.

Seeing as how many nobles live and come and go from the capital the crowds of people had no issues parting to let the escort through. While some tried to get glances at who was coming through, others went on with their days with little concern.

Soon enough they neared the wall, a large arching gate opened up and led into another walled section. Here, only guards were coming and going. One large building blocked their view but Emre could hear shouting and clashing on the other side.

After Breton had a quick word with one of the gateway guards, they were guided inside to take their horses to be temporarily contained in the massive stables. Emre hid his awe under a calm mask as they handed their horses off. When they were led farther into the training grounds he was even more amazed.

The main area was wide open, containing large groups of training soldiers. Most of the building seemed to be built into the wall itself and two large towers led to the top of the wall.

People were drilling the soldiers in swordplay, exercises, and other things like archery. Dummies were being battered and spars were taking place. They paid little mind to the group of people as they were led around the outskirts to one of the larger buildings that were embedded into the wall.

The group separated into two, guards led Breton, Ragan, Emre, and Idris to the building while the rest stopped and started to watch the on-goings of the training. It seemed prior permission had been given to allow them to watch.

After entering the door, the guards inside gave the group curious looks given the two following behind giving off a demeanor of prominent dignity. Emre forced his eyes to stay forward despite the staring eyes pricking his back. He knew that this would happen time and time again so he had to get used to it. Luckily, his poker face was quite good.

Emre was so focused on keeping his countenance unwavering that he didn't realize where they had gone until they were standing in front of a wide double door. One of the guards knocked and a deep masculine voice came from inside, telling them to enter.

The doors were opened wide by the two guards that had been standing at attention a moment ago. Ragan and Breton entered side by side before parting to reveal the two elven-looking men behind them.

The man was gruff-looking. His form was wide and muscular, his well-tanned skin looked like it had been burned under the sun at least a hundred times over. His short salt and pepper hair was trumped by a thick and slightly messy beard adorning the area around his mouth and sideburns.

He was looking through papers upon his dark wood desk, paying little attention to the four people that had just entered as if they were flies and he hadn't just welcomed them in.

With the doors closing behind them, the two guards that had escorted them from the very beginning, took up positions just inside the room, waiting at attention for their next duties. Of course, their eyes scanned Emre and Idris the most.

Breton had no visible weapon and his demeanor was nothing but friendly. Ragan was older, and they were aware of who he was. He certainly couldn't be a threat to their Commander. These two strangers, however, even with auras that only centered at above average and seemed to be no match for their Commander, set them on edge.

"Speak." His voice was booming, carrying an air of force.

He did not even look up from the papers, his large hand simply scribbled something down before he moved to the next.

"These two are the ones that wanted you to know about the circumstances regarding the dark creatures," Ragan stated, skipping any formalities.

Breton opened his mouth to add on but the Commander spoke faster.

"They don't seem like much." He still hadn't looked up.

Emre's look of indifference slowly altered with narrowed eyes. "Yet you haven't even looked up." He commented calmly.

"I don't need to look up to feel your meager auras. Ragan told me you were strong, but now I find myself seriously doubting his intuition."

'It seems like he wants to know our true strength.' Idris noted.

'We should show it then.' Emre responded, irritation clear in his tone.

Insulting him was not an issue, but if he was bringing his mentor into the mix he wouldn't hold back. In but a second the room became more suffocating than it had already been. The damp humid atmosphere was already bad enough, coupled with the auras now roiling off the two, it only caused the guards to pale and their own companions to appear uncomfortable.

Finally, the Commander looked up with a flash of shock in his eyes. It only lasted a moment as his expression hardened and he stood up from the desk, the chair behind him screeching against the wooden floor. He placed his quill down and he walked around the desk to stand in front of it.

Emre took this chance to look thoroughly at the man's mana pool. It was a large mixing of colors, red and green, signifying that he could use both fire and earth magic. His mana pool itself was just about on par with Emre's own, being lower than Idris's.

Given the Commander's experience and strength versus Emre only being a second layer cored dragon that only knew wind and radiant magic, Emre knew that this man would likely win if they were to do a one on one fight. Not to mention his crappy sword skills… Idris on the other hand had a far better chance.

With their released auras, and the Commander, not knowing their experience or skills, was likely on edge now. His narrowed hazel eyes bore into the two of them, trying to read their expressions. Idris wore his normal look of indifferent aloofness, while Emre appeared more serious with narrowed eyes.

"It seems it was wrong of me to judge a book by its cover. Ragan's intuition was correct." The Commander said after the small lapse of silence.

Emre, content merely by him accepting that he was wrong, immediately placed a smile upon his face. He seemed to forget his nervousness merely due to the Commander's new reserved demeanor. His aura dimmed back down to average and Idris followed the cue. The guards took in strained breaths after being released by the pressure while Breton and Ragan sighed out in relief.

"Yes, it wouldn't be wise of us to go around flaunting our power now would it?" Emre hummed out.

"Mm…" The Commander grunted before placing his hands behind his back. "My name is Thorgrim Jornsel. As you should know, I am the Commander of the Gaia Kingdom Forces." He finally introduced.

"My name is Emre," Emre responded before looking to his side, a smile still on his face.

"And I am Idris," Idris added.

Thorgrim found their appearances striking and curious. They looked like elves, yet their ears seemed just a tad too long leading him into a small bout of hidden confusion. One had seemingly natural pure white hair and the other was his harsh opposite. Emre's smiling face and Idris's cold demeanor would seem like it'd clash, yet Thorgrim only felt that they seemed natural beside one another. It was strange.

Neither of them bowed, nor did the Commander. Even so, it seemed he did not care and instead cocked a brow.

"No family names?" He wondered.

Emre's amber eyes flashed with mischief and Idris knew what was coming.

"Dragons do not have family names."