Ancient Kings X: Multifarious Bonds/Episode 1: Soothing Homecoming

**Soothing Homecoming** is the first episode of Ancient Kings X: Multifarious Bonds.

## Plot

After a month of leaving Ventilus to search for new bonds, Joshua Zephyrius makes an epic comeback. He is greeted with compassion and peace, soothing his mind after a long journey. He knew of the legend of the Vis Herae in the village of Crystherum and told everyone about it. However, will the peace among them stay for long? Joshua, after all the fun, senses danger in the future regarding the aforementioned legend. Afterwards, he sensed a familiar presence before the castle doors of the Zephyeur Castle and went to the lobby to meet that person. Who is the said person he met in the lobby?

## Storyline

A man of regal bearing dressed in Ventilussian royal garments is flying in the clear blue skies. This man, named Joshua Zephyrius, gazed upon the surface, stacked with medieval buildings. He smiled and glided forward at a relaxed pace.

In the King's Lounge of Zephyeur Castle, Thomas Atlanteum is conversing with his fellow Ancient Kings, namely Raymond Jetterra, Louisius Salamandra, Arthurius Nycteon, and Jamesche Argentum. They seem to have fun talking to each other, while Arthurius noticed Cordelia Eurius walking toward them. She bowed gracefully before them, while the kings did the same.

Joshua continued flying in the sky. He lowered his altitude and headed for the Cryglen City market.

Caitlineia Eurius is on the second floor of the castle. She put her hands on the plank supported by a marble balustrade on the balcony. She is gazing at the horizon eagerly waiting for her dear husband to come home. While on the third floor, Severina Zephyrius is seated on the rooftop, enjoying the cool breeze of the northeast. She is also waiting for her big brother to arrive.

Jesse Argentum, with his sister Alice Argentum, is working back in the Imperium Operation Quarters. They are innovating the Grand Construct of their master, called Tachyon. Jesse, while masked, is seen using magical lightning arc to coalesce the metallic parts of the construct together. Alice is installing new features into the programming system of the construct.

Joshua flew past the market and glided toward the Ventilus Grasslands.

Aeravelia Zephyrius, daughter of Joshua, put a bouquet of vivid flowers on an elegantly-carved gravestone. She walked back to the lush surface, taking a glimpse of the blue sky.

In the Arctical Island Luxury Restaurant - Avalaera Branch, Reius Draganea and his older brother Flarius Draganea are eating their usual Spicy Warrior Rice Bowls.

Joshua checked the horizon and saw his home, the lofty Zephyeur Castle. He flew to the pathway heading to the castle.

At the training grounds in Fenix's Pinion, Valius Avidracon is seen training himself against training dummies and targets, which have been set up for target practice, with his trusty axe and fire-type powers.

In the council room of the Empyrean Conclave, the Elder namely Megresiel Septans is discussing some matters with his fellow council members. Vegaea Deneva is seen nodding her head in agreement with the Elder. Altairius Deneva looked solemn as usual. Alcalaid Asclipius took out a scroll from his hand. With a golden dip pen, he wrote some notes on what the Elder is speaking of.

Joshua landed on the the cobblestone road and walked toward the castle gates. The camera panned on the opposite side, displaying Joshua smiling before the gate. They opened without any physical force pushing it. He walked past the entrance and entered the castle. His maids bowed before him in respect. Cephelia Semis leaped toward the king and hugged him, as though he was her own brother. Joshua, having no other choice, accepted the hug. The cheerful maid let go of him and bowed before him. Joshua smiled in embarrassment.

A fair maid walked toward the four Ancient Kings on the couch. "Your Majesties, King Joshua has arrived."

"Yes!" they shouted in unison. Louisius, thinking of the others still out of town, used his telepathy ability to communicate with Reius, Flarius, and Valius.

Reius and Flarius eagerly finished their savory meals. Reius sighed in relief. All of a sudden, they heard Louisius' voice in their heads. They nodded and hurriedly exited the restaurant. They waited for a short time to balance their momentum and flapped their dragon wings. They jumped upwards and glided to the castle.

"Valius, Joshua is here," Louisius telepathized with Valius.

Valius nodded & flies to the castle.

Joshua, together with his maids, are walking along the hallway to the King's Lounge.

"I am really astonished of your return, my lord," Cephelia remarked.

"It is a pleasure to come back to the place I reside," Joshua replied.

"I agree."

They come to a stop before the entrance of the King's Lounge. Cephelia knocked on the door.

Inside the lounge, Louisius sweated in impatience. He saw Reius and Flarius gliding toward the big window and hurriedly moved out of the way. The two siblings safely landed on the floor and folded their wings back into the right position.

"Are we late?" Reius said.

Louisius, while on the floor, sighed in relief. "Barely. But where's Valius when we need him?!" He retorted.

Valius arrives in the scene from the sky & descends down for a landing, folding his wings once he lands. "Greetings everyone." Said Valius with a smile on his face.

Louisius sighed in relief again.

"Yes!" Thomas said. "Everyone, sit down on the seats and say 'Welcome Back' when he enters the room."

"We got your cue, brother," Reius chanted.

Thomas slowly opened the door.

"Welcome back!" they shouted in unison.

Joshua was astonished. Cephelia smiled at her master.

"This is really memorable, everyone. I give you my greatest gratitude!" responded Joshua.

Reius tapped Joshua's shoulder. "All is well, bro."

Caitlineia walked toward her husband Joshua and hugged him. Joshua accepted the hug. Their eyes met each other.

"Thank goodness you're back, Joshua," Caitlineia told him.

"Thank you for waiting, my dear," he replied.

"Father!" Aeravelia leaped toward her father Joshua and hugged him.

"Dearest brother!" Severina leaped toward her brother Joshua and hugged him as well.

"Thank you," Joshua said.

Thomas, Raymond, Louisius, Arthurius, and Jamesche put up their big smiles before Joshua.

Someone watches them from afar, sticking to the shadows.

"We got special grub for all of us. Consider it as a party," Thomas told Joshua.

"When it REALLY is, though," Joshua replied.

"You'll see, soon enough." Said Valius.

"Thanks for the reminder," Joshua responded, walking toward the group.

"So how fare thy journey, King Joshua?" Flarius asked.

"It is quite refreshing and fun," Joshua answered.

"I see," Flarius agreed.

"Interesting. What kind of sights did you see on your journey? Did you see any landmarks back then?" Valius asked.

"Good question. One of those amazing sights is the garden of chrysanthemums in the village of Crystherum in the southeast part of Pyronia. I was there for quite so long in search of the legend of the Vis Herae. And one of those towering landmarks is the Obelisk of Cacophony in the eastern part of Geomus," Joshua told him.

"Gor'Ron Vorkata Joshua," A stranger says in the background.

"Perhaps a 'king' to remain simple," answered Joshua. He began to add up. "Drak'Vorkata Darkstorm."

Darkstorm steps into the light, "I will keep that in mind your Majesty."

"Well, I am glad that you've enjoyed your trip your majesty, Joshua." Said Valius with a smile on his face, knowing that Joshua has a nice experience on his journey.

"It is a pleasure, Valius," Joshua replied.

Thomas drank a glass of Benthial wine. "So, Joshua, have you discovered the legend?"

"I'm quite perplexed regarding that matter," Joshua responded.

Darkstorm tilts his head curious, "Legend, explain."

Valius, who is a bit eager to learn more about the legend, said, "Yes. Please do."

"I guess the only ones who know of this legend are my fellow rulers," he added. "Many years ago, there are certain women who possess the ability to use special magic which contained sheer power enough to reach the level of the kings and queens. They received these abilities because of Aeternia's blessing which they sincerely wished for. These women may be the center of attention in places where they reside."

"Fascinating," Raymond responded.

"When a Vis Hera is stripped off from her ability to cast their unique magic or has phased through the afterlife, their ability itself chooses a new woman to harness the said magic," Joshua explained further.

Darkstorm rubs his chin," Interesting, magical power passed down to the next generation."

"Like a legacy being protected & flourishing like a flower in bloom, very clever." Valius responded.

"Yes," Joshua agreed.

Valius smiles. "You know something? One day I would like to meet these new generation's Vis Herae."

Joshua's mind scrambled all of a sudden after hearing Valius' words. His blue eyes glowed cyan and widened due to perplexing sensations. He saw a vision of strange planetary entities among a vast number of Antiquian women. After he took a glimpse of a familiar brunette woman in his mind, he unknowingly swallowed his breath and let it out forcefully. He gasped for air.

"My mighty liege! How dost thou fareth?" Cephelia asked the king.

Joshua regained respiration after few seconds. "I fareth well. I was just surprised by a sudden view of unknown creatures."

"Thou seest a vision, mine fellow?" responded Arthurius.

Joshua, after uttering archaic Terran language for a moment, went back to speak in normal Terran language. "If that was. I saw a group of strange entities of enormous stature and relative power among a multitude of maidens."

"Do you think it is only mere coincidence or an intentional clue?" Asked Valius, wondering if he is responsible for the vision he had caused by accident.

Darkstorm scratches himself behind the ear getting at a very annoying itch.

"I know not of the vision prior to this day. My knowledge tells me that it is mere coincidence. As thou knowest, Valius, any creature is incapable of inducing prophetic visions in their minds. Nonetheless, I do not feel well after that. My fear is that there is a possibility that it will happen," explained Joshua. "Moreover, you are not responsible for the visions you see in your mind. Therefore, if I was really responsible of it, I might have been daydreaming. Sometimes, you make things perplexing in a strange manner, Valius."

Valius then feels saddened as he heard the word 'strange' being said to him. He turns to Joshua & said "Sorry, but is a hybrid that I am, strange enough already? I'm unlike all of the other pure bread species like yourselves. I was born a hybrid with my father a dragon & my mother a pheonix. My father can't let the pheonix species go extinct. What else can he or I do?"

Joshua tried to quench his disappointment. He put his right hand on his forehead. "How about you remember what I have spoken unto you and be not sensitive to matters even you have not taken thought of? Pardon my manners, I am far as frank than you think. However, from my greatest honesty, you disappoint me for taking the word 'strange' as saddening to your soul just because you think that your species is taken in consideration-which I did not-when I speak such a word. How childish. Man thou up and bear in mind what I have enlightened unto you."

Valius' heart now fills with determination as he risked up. "Your right. I apologize for disappointing you. And also, I'm not a kid. I'm a man that is on quest for adventure and discovery, while protecting my homeland for my mother & father, from any outside invaders, especially the sea serpents from the long forgotten past."

"Thou proclaimeth thyself a man, yet thou needest more understanding of the words spoken unto thee, not seeing them too literally, but heeding their context. Art thou enlightened now?" Joshua counseled him.

Darkstorm's tail begins to grow wolf fur the spike disappearing.

"Yes I am enlightened, whatever that meant." Responded Valius in a bit of confusion of the King's English.

"Thou speakest out of compliance. I beseech thee, be honest of thy self: even an Antiquian such as thee is incapable of understanding just archaic Terran language. Thou mayest not commune with any of the Ancient Kings or Queens if thou art not able to speak it, much less know it," Joshua rebuked him. "To be frank, I dislike the attitude of certain persons in which they dodge the conversation by perceiving things too literally and leap to irrelevant conclusions."

"Just consider, Joshua, it's normal for him to think like that. He's a warrior while you're a king, y'know," Thomas told him.

Joshua sighs. "I apologize for such unsightly frankness I displayed, Valius. The matter is that we must work as one to discover if the vision is true."

Darkstorm looks at them as they speak among themselves thinking to himself, "I am amazed they don't see me shifting right now."

"Is he initiating some sort of revision or is he just that showy?" Arthurius thought.

Valius said to Joshua, "Apology accepted, Joshua. We both are different, but we're still friends no matter what happens to either of us, even if we are in danger."

"Thank you, Valius. Well then, we need to relax for a while. We'll be going to Demersus Beach pretty soon," Joshua said.

"Very well & between you & me, this is actually my first time going to the beach." Said Valius as he is being honest with himself & his friends.

"Thomas, some Benthial wine, please," Joshua asked.

"Right away, pardner," said Thomas, giving him a glass of Benthial wine.

Joshua sipped wine slowly. "I beseech you, Valius—please do come. It is one of the most relaxing recreations nowadays. Additionally, Demersus Beach is free for people with a royal on their side."

Darks claws scrap the stone floor

"Oh, OK then, I will." Said Valius as he accepts the offer.

Darkstorm looks at them

Arthurius was looking at him all along. "What kind of childishness art thou displaying, Darkstorm? Do be a Dark Lord and pay heed to what Joshua hath spoken. Moreover, ruin not the surface."

Darks skins falls off revealing patches of black fur

Valius notices this & asked "Wait a minute, Darkstorm, are you shedding? A transformation of some sort?"

Darkstorm mearly barks as his body turns more wolf like

"He's really seeking it..." Arthurius thought.

Joshua sighed. "By Zephyr, can't help it, huh?" he asked.

"Bad timing, to be honest. We wouldn't ruin the show with Darkstorm turning into a wolf," jested Thomas, cracking up.

"Watch thine lips, will thou? He can hear thee," Raymond advised him.

"This is rare: an Apocalian that is able to shed into a lupine form," Cordelia said.

Darkstorm face palms and signs to Joshua to tell him that its normal for his kind if bitten

Valius is confused of the subject & said "Joshua, what do you think Darkstorm is trying to say?"

"I am not attuned to animal gestures, so I do not know," Joshua said.

Darkstorm walks over to the middle of the room and plops down

Valius sighs, wondering what Darkstorm is doing now.

The others look at him but most of them cannot understand the lupine Darkstorm's actions.

Caitlineia took a glimpse of Darkstorm's fresh wound on his ear. "A fresh wound. Say, I have not seen this on that area before..."

"I hypothesize that it transfigured him to his lupine state, since I inferred it from the sequence of his life experiences," Joshua speculated.

Darkstorm puts a paw on Caitlineia's should to hopefully speak through her

"I'm not sure if you heed a word I tell you, but are you able to revert into your normal state?" Caitlineia told the lupine Darkstorm.

Darkstorm's eyes flash blue unable to psychically connect to her mind

"Well then, what do you think we should do now?" Asked Valius.

"What fares thee, Darkstorm?" Raymond asked Darkstorm, observing the latter's eyes flash blue.

Darkstorm mimicks writing.

Caitlineia moves her azure hair away from her forehead, revealing some sort of a runic symbol.

Darkstorm begins scraping his claws into the floor writing down what he was trying to do, " I was trying to link my mind to hers to communicate to you all, unfortunately she has psychic blocks on her mind."

"The Rune of Immortality negates any psychokinetic abilities cast upon me. Moreover, a non-Antiquian cannot control any Antiquian because we have complex neurons in our brain," Caitlineia said.

Darkstorm makes an "awing" motion with his mouth but then is distracted by his tail and begins chasing it

Joshua sensed someone knocking on the castle doors. He turned to see the door leading out of the lounge to the hallway.

"What caught your gaze, dearest?" Caitlineia asked her husband.

"I sense a visitor before the castle doors. I must see for myself right away," Joshua said. He walked out of the lounge.

Caitlineia put her index finger on her chin. "His sensory is keener than usual," she thought.

Thomas observed the lupine Darkstorm. "Huh? What's with the tail, Dark?" he asked.

Darkstorms more animalistic side is viewed while he acts like a normal domesticated dog.

Thomas sighed.

Louisius brought a pack of Fiery Tacos with him. "Snack time! Take caution: it's spicy!"

Thomas put up a big smile. "Nice going, Louie!" He munched on one serving. "Delish! You have my support!"

Louisius took one serving and normally ate it. "Thanks."

Reius is enjoying the tacos as well. "King 'thurius, want some?" he invited Arthurius.

"I shall pass, thank you," Arthurius responded.

Cordelia was gazing at Joshua's oil paintings hanging on a wall. She turned to look for Joshua, but he was not there. "Catia, my sister, have you caught sight of thine spouse?"

"He went to the entrance to meet his visitor," Caitlineia answered.

"I see," Cordelia affirmed.

"I wonder who his visitor is," Aeravelia thought.

At the hallway...

Joshua walked along the hallway, heading for the castle doors. He stopped walking as he saw Cephelia bowing before him.

"What is the matter, Cephelia?" he asked,

"A woman is calling for thee in the lobby," she answered.

"As suspected," he thought. "I'll go now."

"I heed, my lord," Cephelia affirmed.

As Joshua continued walking, he finally arrived in the spacious lobby. He looked at the upholstered seats on the east corner of the lobby to meet his visitor.

Among the soft chairs stood a maiden of fair stature. She was facing away from Joshua's sight, allowing him to glance upon her chest-length hazelnut brown hair with two chrysanthemum-like hair tie on her head. She was dressed in a sleeveless vermilion dress with separate sleeves ending on her elbow. A pair of knee-length vermilion leggings covered her two lower limbs.

He walked toward the maiden and attempted to approach her in a noble manner. "Excuse me, art thou...?"

She turned to see the king that approached her. Joshua's blue eyes widened slightly in response to her unexpected appearance. There was a moment of silence between the two.

"Is that you... Chrysanthine?" Joshua asked.

The maiden's crimson eyes glistened before the presence of the king. The episode ends after a fade-to-black transition.

END OF EPISODE 1