The Prince of Demons

We resumed our trek through the Kniclad Mountains for several days; I began adding more stretches in my training after the spar I had with Zagzin. I knew from when I began putting on muscle it took time to see the results of exercise. Seeing any form of results from training is never immediate. In the downtime we had, I practiced the hyper speed and adjusting the <Mana Reinforcement> on my joints to steadily improve or try to improve at least because my motions still were not smooth enough for my liking. It takes time. It takes time. I kept reminding myself that I needed to be patient if I wanted the result I was after; this was going to take effort over a period of time before I saw improvement. Why can't I just instantly be good at something? Was that too much to ask for? I at least had a vision of what I needed to do which was assuring. I shook my head while we kept moving towards Elijah at a good pace. I hate when I need to be patient, it is always my least favorite time.

How long had we been moving towards Elijah? Easily a month and a half minimum. Maybe I should have tracked the days better during travel, but there was no point in crying about something I should have done after the fact. It kind of speaks to how large Phestia is that over a month of us running towards Elijah we still haven't reached the desert. Hoggdin said it helped get perspective and to learn more, though I hadn't seen that yet, so far most of the <Journey> had been sparring or dueling <Spirit Beasts> my age. Or maybe I have as I did realize I need to adjust how I fight a bit. Was I expecting something unrealistic from this <Journey>? Maybe I was just being impatient because I wanted results faster than I should expect. Still no idea why Hoggdin and Miril both think Duck is going to be the King I struggle the most with. The fact they agreed and laughed about it led me to believe that something about Duck and I were not exactly compatible. What could it be? Were they sea based like Nautilus?

Something occurred to me once I thought about Nautilus like that. Will we have to cross any large bodies of water? How would we cross something like an ocean if we had to? Were there ships on Phestia? That was definitely not something I accounted for when we began traveling. Shiza, I did not think about that. I knew we weren't allowed to take food with us, but would a raft have been against the rules of a <Journey>? Maybe there were no bodies of water for us to cross. We're in the Kniclad Mountains right now, which is technically supposed to be our second destination. I checked our third destination, King Atoz in the Mystval Forest, and saw <Waypoint Compass> turn almost ninety degrees to the side for where they were supposed to be. I think the order was said to be furthest to closest, but why did I think that they would be in a line. It occurred to me now that just because Elijah was technically the farther away, it didn't mean the others weren't a large distance away either. I undeniably thought about it wrong. We might have been doing some sort of circular path as we went through the various territories, not the straightish line that I had imagined. I can add that to lessons I have learned on this <Journey> as well, I guess.

Not having the greatest mental picture of what travel could entail was not exactly the kind of thing I wanted to learn while on a <Journey>, but the information was technically useful. Just great, another thing I can add to the shortcomings I need to fix. This was something I needed to remember for later if I ever had to go long distances again on foot. I shook my head as I wanted a new line of thinking. What else could I think about? How long would it take for me to learn if we needed to figure out some method of crossing a large body of water? <Journeys> are intended for all young <Spirit Beasts>, so there must be something, right? Was that just me being optimistic? It was irritating how the things I wanted to know or improve on just kept increasing rather than slowly getting worked down. I dislike it. Moving forward was the only thing I could currently do to work on the list, unfortunately. I need to just bide my time and accept that it is going to be a process. I looked at my <Pack> to make sure we were fine to keep going; everyone looked fine which is what I expected. The harsh winds and sheer cliffs made flying through here kind of difficult for Onilin and Zagzin, especially with us on their backs which slowed down our pace. Part of me wants to tell them to power through, but the winds here are quite brutal, and it might cost us more time than it saves if they get hurt.

As I went to think over a sea traversal plan, something began approaching us rapidly from above, so we quickly took defensive positions while a massive bird slammed into the cliff above us. The bird looked down on us with curiosity in its golden eyes. Who on Phestia is this? There was no way they were on a <Journey>, this being was too strong just of the sheer amount of <Mana> it was radiating alone. Calling this being a bird was a bit wrong, because the bird's wingspan was easily a hundred feet wide. It also navigated the harsh winds with little effort; it just slammed into the cliff to startle us. Their underbelly feathers were deep crimson while the top side and wings were a rocky brown color. The bird's neck and face were a mix of the two, going to their bright gold eyes which contrasted their talons and beak which were a metallic bronze. I looked at the other four who seemed relaxed despite jumping at the initial landing. Kniclad Mountains were ruled by Ilrymax if I recall correctly, is this Ilrymax?

"Greetings, King Ilrymax." I tried saying politely. The giant bird erupted in laughter after I said that.

"Are you sure I am Ilrymax? You sounded so confident, Lux." Ilrymax taunted me between fits of laughter.

"How do you know who I am?" I checked, not grasping how he instantly identified me.

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"Because the other four know I am King Ilrymax, and there is only one <Spirit Beast> on this <Journey> who would not know that fact. It also helps King Miril's son, Ikol, is next to you." Ilrymax pointed out. Well, that all might have been true.

"So, uh… um, King Ilrymax, how may we help you?" I inquired. Onilin was snorting behind me as she fought the urge to laugh.

"I sensed some beings in my territory and decided to see who they were." Ilrymax informed me as he was tilting his head side to side.

"I believe we were supposed to do the trial of King Elijah first." I informed him. Ilrymax just laughed some more.

"I can't fault you for not knowing, the order of Kings is heavily encouraged, not a hard rule. If you happen to come across another King on the path to the intended King, you are allowed to do their trial so as to not have to return to them later because it saves everyone time. Granted, minor deviation is fine, as going in reverse order will be actively discouraged for example." Ilrymax explained to me.

What does de..vee…de..veee… that long word mean? Ikol asked me mentally, looking confused.

Deviation means to stray from. I replied as I thought of how to phrase my next sentence.

"But you actively sought us out. We did not stumble across you." I stated in order to buy some time. Ilrymax only laughed harder when I pointed that out.

"Semantics. I am bored and wanted to test some younglings." Ilrymax shot back in an instant.

"I guess this was a possibility." I grumbled. I was not ready for a King to descend from nowhere and be like, the time for my trial is now.

Lux. Ikol whined mentally. Ilrymax and his fancy words were going to melt Ikol's brain.

Semantics means the meaning of words. Ilrymax is saying the phrasing doesn't matter, just his intent. I clarified for my musclehead.

"Now that you've finished defining words for Ikol, let's have a conversation." Ilrymax told me before jumping off the cliff face and onto the path.

"Conversation?" I probed. Was that seriously the trial? Just talk to Ilrymax? He began laughing again for some reason.

"You seem so confused." Ilrymax teased as he found my skepticism amusing.

"I am used to Miril and her swat first attitude." I replied politely.

"King Miril is fairly levelheaded and patient, I wonder what could possibly motivate different treatment." Ilrymax mused with sarcasm dripping off every word after wonder.

"I do not know. She does not like me." I grumbled. No idea what goes on in that head of hers. King Ilrymax seemed genuinely caught off guard by that statement.

"Doesn't like you, her protégée she spent three years training and insisted be allowed to go on a <Journey>?" King Ilrymax taunted me. What? What did he just ask? I could feel Onilin, Vndrglz, and Zagzin all staring intensely at me as he pressed about that.

"Wait, what?" I asked. That sounded nothing like King Miril. Did he hit his head? She shows nothing but active contempt for me.

"What was not clear?" Ilrymax pressed, sounding annoyed having to repeat himself.

"What do you mean she insisted? And since when was I her protégée? I mean, she did teach me, but that is not the word she would use." I clarified for him. King Ilrymax cocked his head to the side before he realized something. King Ilrymax nearly fell of the cliff he began laughing so hard.

"I apologize, I forgot this is King Miril I was referring to." Ilrymax chuckled while his talons dug into the cliff to keep him from falling off of it.

"What about Mama did you forget?" Ikol probed innocently.

"Nothing, nothing; I was being silly." Ilrymax defended himself, still laughing about something.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I checked as I wanted to move the conversation along.

"Not sure yet, we're getting there. So, I take it Lux is in charge of this <Pack>?" Ilrymax inquired when he finally stopped laughing uncontrollably after a few moments.

"Yes." The other four answered in unison.

"Decided by her being the strongest, I presume?" Ilrymax checked. What was he trying to figure out?

"Yes." The four confirmed for him in unison.

"As I suspected. Hmmmmmmmm." Ilrymax stated calmly while pretending to think. By the glint in his eyes I knew Ilrymax had already made most of his decision. What was he still trying to figure out?

"Were you curious about my leadership?" I tried, seeing if that would prompt something from him.

"Not at all." Ilrymax replied immediately. So, what was he checking?

"I see." I quipped. I had no idea what he wanted to discuss, or if this conversation was what he wanted. I think so, not that I overly understand what King Ilrymax is trying to figure out.

"<Gnortis Anfau>, what is your name?" Ilrymax inquired now. What was he trying to figure out?

"Vndrglz." Vndrglz answered politely.

"Vndrglz, what do you seek in this <Journey>?" Ilrymax asked him directly.

"I want knowledge from beyond where I lived." Vndrglz told him after a few moments. King Ilrymax nodded along, seeing he made his decision.

"Do each of us have a different trial?" I probed. King Ilrymax looked at me while turning his head side to side.

"That is correct. Each King does not give each <Spirit Beast> the same Trial; we give them one we think is an appropriate challenge for them." Ilrymax told me. That makes sense.

"Did you have any questions for us?" Onilin checked. Ilrymax barely looked in their direction.

"No, I knew yours before I even landed, along with the other dragon. I would like to know your names however." Ilrymax informed them.

"Onilin." Onilin answered, seeming nervous that Ilrymax already made his decision.

"I'm Zagzin." Zagzin replied where he did not appear as bothered as his sister.

"Do not worry Onilin and Zagzin, your trial is at least straightforward." Ilrymax assured them with a smile.

"Great." The dragons sighed in unison. That is likely not fantastic for them.

"Now, what to do with you two?" Ilrymax mused, looking at Ikol and me.

"You give us a trial!" Ikol chimed happily. I looked at the musclehead, wondering what went on in his head.

"That is correct." Ilrymax agreed while seeming amused by him.

"What do you want to know?" I probed, kind of curious as to why Ilrymax was stalling.

"You are an unknown; I have no information about you. I already know what the trials are going to be for the others. Now, let's have a conversation." Ilrymax directed as he clearly was going to think this through more.