New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

The two parties headed out of the palace, on their way to the city portal square. A Royal Guard escort followed them all the way there, causing a lot of attention to gather on them.

Astaroth didn't mind all that much, but some players in the two following groups were much more nervous at the thought of hundreds of people watching them go down the street.

It didn't take long for them to reach the portal square, since most residents and adventurers parted ways for them as they walked. A group of twenty-four people walking together was already impressive in itself.

The fact that both monarchs were with them only made this even more memorable.

Once there, the portal was already primed and ready to go, thanks to Commander Levine's forewarning. All they had to do now was step through.

Astaroth gave one last look at the surrounding people, and said, "Alright! Let's go face the music!"

He stepped through first, as the guards in Themiscus were already expecting his arrival.

As the colours assaulted his sight, and a swirling sensation overcame his senses, Astaroth grit his teeth for a moment, before reappearing through another portal, in a plaza of bluish stone floor, and buildings of solid stone.

Meeting his eye was the sight of dozens of guards surrounding the plaza, with weapons still stowed, but hands twitching. They were all wearing half-plate armour, with bluish tints to the metal, as well as what looked like mage robes.

From the look of nervousness on their faces, they knew Astaroth was not going to be alone out of the portal, and were waiting to see if there would be a confrontation.

As twenty-three more people poured out of the portal, tension rose on both sides. When the players and Commander Levine finally exited the portal, and the portal shut down, a single armoured person walked forth from the Themiscus guard.

Astaroth walked forward to meet him.

"King Astaroth. The council awaits your presence at the castle. Please follow us."

Astaroth nodded at him, before waving at the two parties behind him to follow him.

The soldiers that were present in the plaza suddenly split into two, wrapping around the twenty-four people from the Stellar Woodlands kingdom.

Moving forth from the portal plaza, the citizens of the kingdom gasped and whispered, wondering why so many mana knights were surrounding this large assortment of people. It was all but a common sight.

But no one dared step up and ask what was going on with the guards. They only whispered amongst themselves, theorizing.

Astaroth and a few other players with good auditory senses caught some whispers. But none of them sounded very positive.

"Do you think they are a group of bandits?" one person whispered.

"No. They look like adventurers and soldiers," a man replied, eyeing the group.

"They don't look all that dangerous, though. Why are they being escorted by so many Man Knights?" a woman asked in a hushed tone.

"Why are you asking me? I know as much as you do," the woman next to her replied.

All along the road, many similar whispers were spreading, causing rumours to spread amongst the residents of Themiscus.

Astaroth ignored it after a point. The rumours would soon die down, whether his meeting went well or not.

There was no use in worrying about them.

Plus, this wasn't his kingdom. He couldn't care less what people thought about him in a foreign nation.

This was more about the politics between the two kingdoms, than their reputation.

The further they walked from the plaza, the scarcer the public became, and the more luxurious the houses started to look. Astaroth could also feel the density of mana in the air increase as they travelled further into the city center.

'This isn't just about the people around. I can feel it.'

Expanding his senses under him, Astaroth prodded the earth for something. And he soon found it.

Opening his eyes in surprise, Astaroth almost paused his walking.

This made Phoenix curious, and she asked him, "What's wrong?"

Astaroth exhaled in astonishment.

"Wrong? Nothing is wrong. But I know why the kingdom is so biased toward magic. Whoever started it must have been a very powerful mage," he stated.

Phoenix tilted her head in confusion.

"The city. It's lying on a Ley line bed. It's nothing like I have ever seen. They don't cross paths, but there are so many of them…"

Phoenix wasn't sure what to think about this. She wasn't very well versed in Ley lines and only remembered the snippets her magic mentor had taught her.

One thing she remembered strongly, though, was what he had once told her about them.

"Don't tap into their power!" he had told her, with a foreboding tone.

This had been the one time he had spoken with absolute terror in his tone. Almost like something terrible would happen if she did.

"What does that change?" she asked.

Astaroth looked at her for a moment, wondering why her master hadn't taught her this. But then, he remembered, Aberon was also not the one to teach him this.

'Is this not something they teach mages that have potential?'

But he wasn't going to hide this from her. It changed nothing in his eyes if she knew or not, so why not share the knowledge?

"The more Ley lines are in an area, the denser the natural mana in that area becomes. Because the Ley lines nourish the earth in mana. Having this many Ley lines pass under the city means they are being constantly fed in natural mana. It explains why mages are so much more common here, compared to other places."

Rodney looked at him, wondering where he learned this information. That was one of the most secretly guarded information this kingdom had.

In the hands of a powerful magus, this info could cause the loss of a strategic advantage for the kingdom of Themisca.

But in Astaroth's head, he was asking another question.

'If Rodney grew up in a city so rich in natural mana, how did he not gain mage talents? Especially so close to the center…'