Marco's journey to the Mainland

Marco's POV

Marco suddenly felt the weight of the entire days descend upon him. After Zia helped clean up the cum around his cock, he took a shower and went to bed. Zia cleaned herself up and silently left Marco’s dorm shortly afterwards. Neither said a word to the other.

During the early hours of the new day, Marco was awoken by a hurried set of knocks tapping furiously against his door.

After he understood the fellow was not going to give in. He jumped out of his bed and angrily stomped across his room and twisted the door handle in rage, he almost pulled the door apart as he opened it.

"Who the fuck dares to-"

His heart almost froze upon seeing a familiar slenderly tall, green haired Elf glaring at him on the other side.

“F-father?” His voice almost fell into a whimper. Marco harshly swallowed the spit gathered in his mouth, then he creased a plastic smile and gently bowed to his father.

His father’s expressionless gaze looked him down once over. “Gather your things and get dressed. You’re going to the mainland with me.” His father ordered sternly.

_‘ Heh not even a hello…But why we going to the mainland? .’ _Marco pondered

“I thought I was supposed to be leaving once the envoy arrives?”

“Stop asking me useless things and hurry up and get dressed!” His father snapped. He then wasted no more time and turned on his heels to leave. Marco watched the departing back of his father slowly walking away. He could only sigh to himself. He quickly regained his composure and swiftly closed his door and went off to get himself cleaned and dressed for the journey.

Marco had gotten ready quite quickly. It seems as though he wasn't trying to leave his father waiting for him any longer than necessary.

Today he wore his green robes with partial dark leathers fitted around his torso and his wrists. He had on his elegant outdoor hunting boots, as well as a sharp dagger made out of shimmering glass, which he kept closely glued to his hip.

Eventually he and his father were gathered on one of the mountains peaks, overlooking a blanket of clouds and rigid mountain tops grazing the skies.

Marco paid the vast scenery no mind as he was currently focused on the sight of an enormous majestic golden beaked eagle. The eagle was perched just by the edge of the mountain. The incredibly large bird was covered with thick dark feathers and had a pale stomach. Two saddles and a reign had been secured tightly on top of the bird. Marco observed what was obviously going to be their mode of travel for the day. And again, he was a little confused as to why they weren't taking the usual carriage and horses.

This would be his first time travelling by an eagle. And inwardly he was almost terrified to do so despite his externally calm looking demeanour.

“Come we must leave now. You wont be returning to this place for a very long time boy. Make peace with it quickly.” His father said those words plainly. He then climbed on top of the huge eagle and gathered the golden reigns in his grasp, almost threatening to leave the stunned Marco behind if he wasn’t quick enough.

Marco was a little confused by the hurried chain of events. He didn’t hold any real sentiments towards this place of course, but this was the place where he had grown up. He felt a little unsure of how he should be handling this internally. But nevertheless he understood disobeying his father wasn't an option. So Marco done what he usually did with feelings he wasn't sure of. And that was to erase them to the back of his mind.

He obeyed his father and climbed on top of the eagle, taking his seat behind him and making sure his two hands firmly held the thick protruding stump placed in between the two leather seats . Marco watched with intrigue as his father shook the reigns a little, prompting the dark feathered eagle to begin its flight.

The eagle flew as high as it possibly could, its long thick wings were like sails cutting through a windy sea. Marco turned around to see the tall blue mountain peaks gradually fading away behind the fog of white clouds. Gazing back at the departing mountain, he felt a solemness gathering within his heart. There was still things he hadn't taken care of. But he understood all things come to an end. As they passed over the mountainous plains below. He heard a soft twinkle by his ears.

His eyes briefly widened before he creased a charming smile. ‘Finally awake bell?’ he was beginning to feel a growing affection towards the childlike sprite he had adopted.

‘Hmm-mmm, Lili-Bell enjoys her sleeps now that master is here.'

The little sprite quickly materialised itself. Iy’s tiny wings flapping continually whilst the sprite took a few seconds to scan around and observe its new surroundings.

Marco was still stuck in a trance whilst he gazed absentmindedly into the open air. He started to feel a gentle tug against the tip of his sharpened ears. He slightly moved his head to find the little sprite puffing its cheeks whilst it tried to get his attention. Lili-Bell used its tiny hands to gesture below their flight.

'Master... Lili- Bell can feel another guardian somewhere down there .’

‘_WHAT! Another guardian! where? _Marco eagerly peered over the eagle. But all he could vaguely make out were the deep gaping crevices he noticed between the rocky gorges and the mountains. Each gaping hole was like an abyss of absolute darkness.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes master- the guardian is here, but its still far away. Lili-Bell isn’t sure why it's here... but Lili-Bell knows its there…master this guardian is making Lili-bell scared.’

The tiny fairy whimpered into his ears. Quickly flying towards his cheeks and pressing its tiny body against him.

Hearing that made Marco frown a little. From the little he understood about guardians, he knew what the sprite was sensing must be something quite dangerous. Guardians could sense the presence of other guardians. And depending on the nature of the guardian itself, determined how its aura would be received by the others. Since he formed a bond with Bell he was quite interested in discovering other guardians, and one of the most intriguing facts to understand, was that guardians were able to swallow other guardians in order to grow stronger.

Marco fantasized by just how stronger his powers with Bell could get. Since he formed the pact with the guardian of desires, he was eager to make sure it grew to be the strongest it could be.

But for now he was resigned to waiting. Since his father certainly wouldn’t stop under his protests, it was best to let this one go. He also wanted to keep his guardian a secret for now.

‘Once I’ve harnessed the full power of Bell I'll be able to do whatever I want.’ Marco romanticized the days ahead. He had always been confident within himself and more so now that he had the power of a guardian to fall upon.

From an initial face value, a guardian of desires wouldn’t seem as strong as all the other potential guardians out there. But it suited him quite well. He would use it to unearth the secrets of many and subdue all the beautiful and most powerful women across the kingdoms. Marco always wanted to be king in truth and now he could see the road he needed to take to fulfil that dream.

The eagle continued its flight over the vast unknown planes, which Marco had never set eyes upon in his entire life. Being an Elf who was raised on the blue mountain, the world beyond those mountains were a great marvel for him to behold. A world covered in luscious green soon appeared below them. Various settlements built out from stones and wood littered the fields. They also flew over lands covered in golden wheat. Farm houses with animals Marco had only heard about in name. The mainland's were truly filled with untold riches to behold.

His father hardly spoke during the journey, he only made sure to announce the different places they passed over.

Some time passed on and Marco could see a monstrous set of lavish towers partially fading with the clouds in the near distance. He peered his eyes further ahead and noticed a whole different world had suddenly appeared. To the left of the lavishly towering castles, he saw a distant island, fading with the clouds, from his own perspective the island was almost floating in the skies. To the right was another tall set of towers and mountains separated from the tall towers by a thick patch of jade land.

“We’ve arrived…welcome to the Lucien Kingdom.” There was a darkened mood surrounding his father as he announced that. Marco noticed it but didn't say anything.

He on the other hand, felt a sense of elation washing over him. He had finally arrived at the Kingdom of his dreams, but rather than flying directly towards the glowing towers, his father veered the eagle towards the left. They we’re heading towards a crowded forest filled with countless tall red trees.

Marco wanted to query his father on where they we’re heading too, but he knew better than to disturb his father’s sullen mood right now. The more he thought about it, the more he was starting to believe that perhaps his father wasn’t so fond of the mainland, and he started to curiously wonder why.

They soared above a carpet of red leaves covering nearly every acre of a deeply crowded forest. Marco kept a curious gaze towards the forest bed, he saw various primates, spotted large headed tigers with two tails and the odd black furred goat roaming around. These animals were quite large too.

Despite flying at a safe enough distance over the forest, Marco felt a certain feel of danger from this place. It didn’t help that Bell was also clinging onto the side of his face, unlike him though, the little sprite was eager to venture through the crowded forest, filled with all these various breeds of animals. She mentioned a few times about how they might taste.

Marco was learning that this tiny being was more courageous than she initially seemed. He grimaced slightly when Bell mentioned eating one of the bears. Marco observed the large kuma with a golden star on the back of its fur coat. His Qi told him that beast was something he’d struggle to handle right now.

The Eagle continued its flight over the crowded forest for a few more miles. Marco noticed his father suddenly raised his finger and pointed towards a particular spot within the forest. The eagle squalled before it soared towards that area without warning. Marco suddenly found the winds cutting through him. He circulated his Qi and allowed his centre of powers to stable his body quickly enough before he was tossed off the back of the bird.

The large eagle dived down without care, most of the trees in the vicinity nearby were blown away as well as a song of birds perched on the nearby branches, who quickly shot to the skies to flee from the giant-sized predator. Some of them were not so lucky of course and Marco grimaced again watching the Eagle catching a few of the birds between its golden beak. Marco wasn’t weak enough to be affected by the flying debris of course, he only slightly felt annoyed that his robes and his hair were covered in dust.

Once the dust had settled he could see the clear view of a lonesome cottage house. Tucked secretly beneath a large fold of leaves, with brown and beige stones forming this humble looking small abode. Against the tiled roof was a gathering of thick red and green moss aged over a long time. Marco noticed a pair of eroded statuses guarding the entryway, both idols disfigured by the weather but the outline of their original form still remained. They looked to be humans dressed in long gowns with pointy hats. He also noticed a small patch of luscious grass spread a little away from the cottage door. It looked as though soil and some vegetable stalks had been growing there.

His father wasted little to no time in dismounting the eagle. The bird was still busying itself with the prey it had caught in its beak. So it didn’t mind being left unattended too and trotted away into the crowded forest soon enough. Marco observed all these things whilst he followed the back of his father. “Don’t worry yourself. It’ll find its way back.” He heard his father say.

‘Knock-Knock-knock-knock’

“It’s I. Varriel of the Azure mountains.”

Footsteps could be heard busying around inside . Moments passed and the door opened. An old man had answered, clearing his throat before he straightened his glasses. He was a human, a human elderly fellow with dark brown skin, a partially bald head and grey wings still growing around his ears. Once the door was fully parted aside, Marco inspected the fellow with caution. He was dressed in royal blue robes. Meshed with silver and dark grey. He wore clear horned rimmed glasses, which were covering his aged but slightly dark hazel eyes.

The old man carefully looked towards Marco with a look of intrigue clear behind his spectacle, before his bright eyes fell upon his father Varriel. A look of familiarity quickly filled his expressionless gaze.

"So this is your boy? He looks just like Annette."

'Annette' , who is that Marco thought whilst he cocked one of his brows up.

"Hm-mm he is his mothers son after all." His father replied loosely