Grimoires & Masters - Chapter 25.

Blossom City was the city of colorful trees. There were more trees in the city than its population. The Kingdom of Dreams was only a Kingdom, but its population was one of the highest in any Kingdoms. And since Blossom City was one of its main cities, it had a population of over five million, and then there were hundreds of thousands of tourists that temporarily resided here. 

The first thing that would surprise anyone would be the wide cobblestone roads. The next would be the colorful trees along with them, planted at calculated distances, surrounding the Barracks, Seige Workshops, and Stables. 

The outer layer of the city comprised of its Military Units, and everywhere one looked, there were people in red uniforms walking about, doing their duties, and guarding by the side of the Northern Gate and the City Wall.

“Every building in the city of Blossoms is made out of wood, or a material that resembles wood.” Silver smiled and looked around happily. 

She had been here before, but still found this place just as mesmerizing as it was when she first visited here.

They kept walking for nearly an hour before they reached the second layer of the city.

“This is the Outer Market of Blossom City. You would find everything here that you need. There are all kinds of shops and service centers. There are Inns and Hotels, Restaurants, Bakeries, Blacksmiths, Alchemists, Enchanters, Beast Houses, Auction Houses……..” Brown excitedly informed Aoun all about the Outer Market.

“Why not just hand him the Blossom City’s map?” Vermillion rolled her eyes and reminded Brown.

“Oh, yes!” Brown smiled brightly as he summoned a pamphlet of the Blossom City and handed it to Aoun. 

“Thank you!” Aoun gladly accepted it and opened it right away. 

The layout of the Blossom City was just as he had remembered learning about in his Royal Education. The Pamphlet was not detailed about the Outer-Layer of the Military, and the Residential Areas, but it had a quite detailed Map of Outer and Inner Markets.

The Inner Market came after the Outer Residential Area. And it was the place where only the wealthy could do their Business. The Market was luxurious and targetted only the rich. It was not that other civilians were not allowed in the Shops and Services there, but they would rarely visit it as customers.

The group stopped after reaching a Teleportation Point in the Outer Market.

These Teleportation Points were connected all over the City to make travel through the city easier. If one decided to walk from the City Wall to the Central City, it would take them hours to reach there. 

“Rest now…” Aoun planted a kiss on Ray’s head and stroked its mane before calling him back inside his Grimoire.

“How many?” The Portal Keeper asked. 

The Portal Keeper was a middle-aged woman, dressed in a shiny gown with the emblem of Kingdom of Dreams and the special emblem of Portal Keepers on it. She was a Master, exuding an Aura of a General, and sat comfortably on a luxurious chair inside her booth.

“There are Nineteen of us, and we wish to head to Central City,” White answered as she reached the booth.

“100 Kyrls each for the Central City.” The woman did not ask any questions and straightforwardly answered.
White already had the money in her hands. She paid in two Gold coins and accepted the change of two Silver and twenty Coppers.

“Keep these for the Welfare Fund.” She left the twenty copper coins on the booth with a smile. 

“Thank you for your donation!” The woman smiled at her and happily took the twenty Kyrls.

Welfare Funds were Government projects that asked the public to donate as much as they deemed fit, and all the money was then spent on subsidizing poor businesses and supporting the families of martyred soldiers. It did not matter how much a person donated, all that mattered was the gesture and the willingness to help someone in need. 

Their Group stepped inside the large Rune, that had twenty-five positions on it. At any one time, the Rune could teleport a maximum of 25 people with a cooldown of two minutes. 

The Rune brightly lit up, and started revolving, before a brilliant light erupted from it, and their group vanished from their positions.

When they opened their eyes, they found themselves standing at the center of a bustling Square. Right in front of them was the Magnificent Building with Two Angels holding an Astral Orb and a Sword in each hand, and on their Chests was the Emblem of Guild Halls, a Triquetra of red color inside a black circle, emitting wisps of orange flame.

Right behind them was the Gate of the Palace of the City Lord. On their right was the Headquarter of the Blossom City Military and the Court. And on their Left was the Bank.

The Bank’s Building was entirely white, made out of a strange wood that caught everyone’s attention. And on it were two tall figures of Angels holding a scale and pouring luminous coins on them. On a cubic Stele, resting right under the Scale, was the Emblem of the Bank, a Triquetra of gold color, revolving clockwise, emitting a Golden Light.

The designs of Guild Halls and Banks could vary from city to city, but the Emblems on them remained the same, and there were always figures of Angels on them, holding different Weapons and different scales. It was because all the Guild Halls and the Banks in the world were under the control of Skyians. A race with Bird Wings, that lived in the Aisles of Solomon, where the Sky Tower was.

“Let’s go…” Black smiled at Aoun and Elena, and their group walked towards the Guild Hall that had the most crowd outside of it. 

Gold was walking in front and raised his hand that had a Rune of light at the back. It was the emblem of the Twelve Shades Guild, and the door of the Guild Hall automatically opened. The groups that were in the way immediately made way for them and looked at their group with reverence and curiosity.

The inside of the Guild Hall was a large Hall with a Central Reception, where a few Skyians were busy accomodating the people, and some were waiting on their booths.

“You will have to go meet with a Skyian at the reception, and then they will guide you through the entire process.” Silver pointed at the free booth at the reception to Aoun and Elena. “We will go check out for some new Quests and submit the Quests we have finished.”

“We have a quest to submit as well.” Rumi smiled.

“Alright then, we will meet at the Lounge upstairs when everyone is finished with their work.” White nodded and then left with the members of her group to check out the New Quests, and Black and Silver headed for the Reception to submit their completed Quests.

Aoun and Elena walked over to the reception booth where a Skyian politely greeted them.

“Good Evening!” She gently smiled at them. “My name is Elna. How may I help you?”

“Good Evening, Miss Elna.” Aoun returned the greeting. “We would like to Register our Identities, and also form a Guild.” He raised his hand and showed the bracelet that was bugging him. “It is painful.” 

The Skyian giggled when she heard his words, knowing that the bracelet was in no sense physically uncomfortable.

“Sure,” She nodded to them and then walked inside her booth before come out of the Reception. “Please, come this way.” 

Elna guided them to the back of the Guild, inside an office. She walked over and sat on the desk before asking them to be seated. 

“Please Fill out these forms.” She handed them the forms that they needed to fill. “As you are Masters, use your Aura’s to do so.” 

The form was a registration form of their Identities. Several columns had to be answered truthfully such as gender, age, and Realm if one was a Master. 

A person did not need to give their real name, and only an alias would do the job, but that alias would stay with them forever. Once the real identity of the person is revealed, the name would change to the real name, and the Alias would then have a separate column of its own. 

The blanks of Race, Address, Birthplace, Potential, and Battle Styles were optional. 

“Make sure that everything you have written is okay. Once the forms have been submitted they can not be changed or deleted.” Elna informed them. “Only the Optional Data will be accessible to you at all times to alter.”

She kept guiding them through the form, and when they were done, she went through the forms one last time. 

“Would you like to have Guild Hall as your Address?” She asked them. 

“Are there any perks of that?” Elena asked curiously. 

“Yes,” Elna nodded to her. “If anyone wishes to contact you, they can leave messages and anything else at the Guild Hall for you. If you have Guild Hall as your address, the person leaving a message for you wouldn’t have to pay any fees, unless they want to send it to a specific Guild Hall.”

“Just that?” Elena giggled. 

“It’s optional.” Elna shrugged and smiled. 

“Sure,” Aoun nodded to her. “We would like that.”

“Alright.” Elna then called out her Golden Grimoire and an Astral Orb. “Would you like your Identity cards to be in Cyrstal, Platinum, Gold, Silver, or Bronze?” She asked.

“They have any Privileges?” Aoun frowned. 

“It’s just for the taste,” Elna answered with a smile. “The Platinum Card costs two Platinum Coins, Gold Cards cost five Gold coins, Silver Cards cost ten Silver Coins, and Bronze cards cost twenty Bronze Coins. The Crystal Cards come in all colors, and each costs five Platinum Coins.”

“Crystal!” Elena immediately answered after listening to the information. “His in the color of Blue Ice, and mine in a Red Flame.”

“Very well.” Elna smiled brightening at their choice and immediately got to business after taking out two crystals in the Colors that they had asked for.

A spell was lit up, and the Crystals were then carved in the shape to two cards, bearing their information, and finally, a certified Emblem appeared on them. 

“Please inject your Aura’s in them.” Elna handed them their cards. 

The cards brightly lit up when they did that, and all the information they filled on their forms appeared on a small card that fit in their hands.

“They are pretty…” Elena smiled brightly.

“Thank you! In case the Card is destroyed or lost, you can get one issued again from a Guild Hall.” She smiled at the two of them, happy that they liked the texture and the design of their cards. 

Can you do something about these, please?” Aoun reminded her of the bracelet on his wrist. 

“Please, draw your hands forward, and hold your Identity cards in the respected hand.” 

Elna lit up another spell, and the Bracelets on their Wrists shattered in specks of light that then entered inside their Identity Cards.

Aoun and Elena left as if a great weight on their minds had worn off. The lingering eyes on their backs had disappeared, and they both sighed in relief. 

“The Registration fee is 10,000 Kyrls, and 100,000 for the preferred Cards,” Elna informed them with a bright smile.

Elena did not waste any time and paid their fees to the Skyian Lady. 

Elna was satisfied after receiving her fee, and then she handed over a pamphlet to them. 

“The information about Guild Formation and its related fees are on it. Please go through it before we proceed.”

Every new Guild was automatically an F-Ranked Guild. There was no requirement for one to be a Master for forming a Guild. Any person in the World could form his Guild. 

The fee of registering a Guild was a staggering 10 Million Kyrls, and then there were additional fees that varied.

“Once you have paid the Guild Registration fee and named the Guild Master or Masters, you can proceed to the next stages of the formation,” Elna informed them. “The Emblem will be formed first, you can let the Rune Master design it for you, or you can get it customized if you have something in mind. The fee of the Rune Master varies to the difficulty and the quality of the Emblem.” 

“And the Guild Badges?” Elena asked as she looked at the prices of the Guild Badges again. They were more expensive than Emblems.

“These Badges are of two kinds. One is a Rune Badge that will be fused with your body, and the other will be a Magical Artifact that can be used as a Stamp. With it, you can place your Guild Emblem on your Clothes, Flags, or anywhere else. It can increase and decrease in size to your requirement.”

“And when we recruit members, do we use the Physical Badge or the Runic Badge?” Aoun frowned when he saw the information on it.

“You can use them both. But only the Monarch of the Guild can use the Badge to plant Emblems. The Runic Badges can be used by Vice-Leaders of the Guilds as well. They can also recruit members with it.” Elna smiled at him. “In the end, it comes down to your choice. You can simply place your Hand on the member's hand that you wish to recruit, and the Runic Emblem will then plant itself on the member's hand if they consent to it.” Elna explained to him. “If you wish to give someone the Authority of a Vice-Leader, you will have an option to do so with the Badge. And It will happen on your will if you use your Runic Badge.”

After all their questions were answered, it came down to the time where Elena and Aoun had to make their decision.

They had 4.3 Million Kyrls from winning the bets in the Black Valley, and then they had the Savings that they brought with themselves.

Aoun had earned a little over 10 million Kyrls from his Royal services, and Elena had around 6 million. 

He looked at Elena and saw a smile on her face, and he sighed and nodded to Elna. 

“We would like to proceed.” 

It did not matter to him if he spent everything he had to get what she desired. She was his life.

“What would you like to name your Guild?”

“The Song of Arc’alaria,” Elena answered. 

“And who would be its Monarch?” Elna smiled back at her. 

“Him…”

“Both of us!” Aoun interjected Elena’s words and nodded to Elna.

“Very well, I would need your Identity Cards now.” She asked as she took out a Giant Book from her Grimoire. 

Elna registered the Name and the information of the Guild, and then she used a verification Spell on their Identity Cards to register them on the Guild Information.

“This Process is only necessary at the formation of the Guild, other members you recruit would not have to get verified like this.” She informed them. “The Runic Badge you will plant on them will gather the information, and it will automatically appear on our Guild Books.”

Aoun had no interest in getting to know these details. He carefully took a little sack from his Blood Ring that contained his savings.  

He knew how much was there in the pouch, and so he took out 2 coins of Purple-Gold-Platinum tri colors and stored them away in his ring. Now, what remained inside were exactly 100 Royal Coins with the emblem of White Winter on them.

Each Royal Coin in the World was worth 100,000 Kyrls. It was the highest unit of currency in the world. Some gems were also used as units of currency, but their value depended on their qualities, and they were quite rare.

Elna accepted the pouch happily and counted the coins using a spell. She did not say anything over the emblem and did not ask any questions. 

“Please, follow me,” She got up from her seat and led them out of the office and into a spiral hallway that left to the innermost area of the Guild Hall that was underground. “I will introduce you to Mr. Valentine. He is one of the best Rune Masters in the World and has been with this Guild Hall of Blossom City since the formation of the Kingdom of Dreams, four hundred years ago. And it just so happens that he is an Enchanter as well as an Artificer.”

Elna’s words shocked the siblings. People skilled in more than one craft were extremely rare. And such people were extremely wealthy and treasures of Empires and Kingdoms. 

“Is he affiliated with any Kingdom and Empire?” Aoun frowned and asked.

“No,” Elna assured them. “He has always been a Wanderer after his Guild perished in a War. And it’s been over 600 years.”

Elna knocked on a door that was numbered 313. 

“Come in!” A gruff and ancient voice called them inside. 

They entered a room that was decorated luxuriously in StarWood, providing a pale blue hue to the room. Other than that, it was quite simplistic and spacious.

The man sitting on the table had a small white beard and white hair on his head, but his face was still that of a middle-aged man. The only part of him that reflected his old-age were his grey eyes that scrutinized Aoun and Elena.

“Master Valentine, these two would like you to make their Emblem and Guild Badges.” Elna respectfully bowed to the man and waited for his answer.

The man kept looking at the siblings for a few minutes before he nodded to Elna. 

“Thank you!” She respectfully bowed again and left the room after telling the siblings to meet them upstairs after their work was done.

“What do you desire, Empyreans?” The words of the old man were grim, and there was no smile on his face. 

Aoun and Elena felt their hearts thump hard under the pressure of the man’s Aura. His words reverberated in their minds, and they felt compelled to answer him. But it was still their choice to do such.

“Everything…” Aoun replied with a light smile, and Elena held his hand to show her support to his words.