A strong wind blew towards them as they glided through the sky on the back of the glowing bird that was just summoned.

The Elder turned around, looking towards the pair intensely, squinting against the rush of wind. "Hang on!!"

The bird flew so quickly against the direction of the wind that it threatened to blow them away. Fortunately though, both Emery and Klea had enough upper body strength to grasp the glowing bird's feathers tightly enough to hold them in place.

The truth is, Emery felt a little uncomfortable flying at such a height, but Klea, ever the adventurer, surprised both him and the Elder by screaming in excitement, an elated look plastered on her face.

She even began to sweet talk the Elder, trying to convince him to teach her how to summon one of her own.

As it was going to be a day-long journey at the very least, the Elder was forced to explain to the two how the spirit realm worked, albeit with an exasperated tone of voice.

The skill required the caster to summon the soul of the animal and make some kind of a contract.

This, combined with a specialty in the path of conjuration, Fjolnir was able to summon a variety of creatures besides weapons and tools, for his own benefit.

This only lit a fire beneath Klea's curiosity even further.

"Oh, can I learn how to do it, Elder? Please?" Begged Klea with her eyes gleaming.

The entirety of the day-long journey eventually faded into hours and hours of Klea's constant pleading, until finally, the Elder gave in and promised to teach her. But only after her persistent requests had given her two travel companions a migraine.

When they finally descended upon their destination, landing on a snowy plain in between the crests of two mountains, the Elder turned to face them. "We have arrived."

Looming before them was a castle on top of a snowy hill.

Surprisingly enough, the location was completely secluded, with no other structures in sight. As the bird began to fly down towards the middle of the castle grounds, Emery could see that there were no more than 100 residents there to welcome them.

"The king has returned!"

The moment they climbed down, the bird immediately dissipated. It dissolved into the cold, swirling air around them.

Fjolrin turn toward them and said;

"Welcome to Vanaheimir, the home of the Vanir... Or at least, it used to be..."

As Fjolrin walked towards the direction of the castle, the 100 residents bowed deeply in respect, with their foreheads touching the ground with such reverence and admiration, as if they were bowing down to God himself.

They walked into the building, and although it had seemed so from its exterior, its interior was nothing like a castle Emery had ever seen. It was almost as if the inside of the building operated as one large hall.

"Welcome to the Great Hall of Vanaheimer."

The wall was filled with bones of animals, there were some that Emery had never seen before. Even for the all knowing Klea.

As it was already quite late by the time they had arrived, the king told them to take their rest, and that they would have plenty of time to talk tomorrow. He also needed time to call a few of his people first, to ensure that they would be present for their discussions tomorrow.

Both Emery and Klea were given one of the empty houses within the sprawling castle yard to spend the rest of the night.

When they entered the small house, they were met with the sight of a cozy living room with one single bed. At this, Klea smiled slyly to herself.

"I should probably ask for another place... Or a bigger one," Emery remarked, looking around with a rather perplexed expression on his face.

"No No!" She cut him off rapidly, waving her hand in the air. "Emery, didn't you see how small this place was? My worry is that the king had to evacuate some residents to make this house available for us in the first place, I wouldn't want to cause more trouble for them when they've been so kind to us."

Emery was a little confused as to why a famous king that had been alive for 1000 years had such a small, secluded castle in the first place, but the Egyptian queen has the answer for that.

"The Scyfling were mostly nomads, after all"

Klea told Emery that it was well-known that there was no true, real king among the northern tribes, as Fjolrin never announced himself as their leader. This allowed for the northern tribes to be a democratic nation of sorts, being led by hundreds of Jarls.

They were currently divided into two large groups that existed which constituted the northern tribes. There was the Horse Tribe to the east, the Seafarer Tribe to the west.

After being taught enough lessons about the kingdom that they were staying in now, Klea began to check around the house. She found that many ingredients had been prepared for them. After gathering the materials she needed, she then started to put together a meal for them inside a cauldron that was set in the corner.

Through it all, Klea kept teasing Emery about how this would be some kind of trial for them to live together.

The two ate dinner together, next to a fireplace with a dark snowy night outside the room. It was as if the two were the only ones living in this world.

When the night came, Klea climbed into the bed and asked Emery to join her.

"It's cold, come, let us warm-up together."

As they are now, it's almost impossible for them to get cold with weather like this, especially Klea who is now learning ice element spirit.

Emery politely rejects as he wishes to return to his [nature grasp] training.

The Egyptian princess was both irritated and amused seeing how much of a gentleman Emery was.

"Alright then. Good night Emery"

While doing his training, Emery saw the beautiful girl sleeping in front of him with a mixed feeling. There was a certain warm feeling with the situation they are in now which gives him a smile, but a thought came to mind if he would ever feel the same way he had felt with Gwen.

The next morning, they were summoned by King Fjolrin. There were a few men that were gathered there.

"Alright, Emery, are you ready to see the burial grounds of your ancestor?"

Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v.e.l,