Sky and Sea Event

Alterion ran his hand across the runes, feeling each symbol thrum with energy and power. The lions behind him watched with awe, Asenath opening whistling at the glowing script. Cael rubbed his chin, looking curiously over the worldhopper’s shoulder as he examined the runes.

“What does it say?” he asked.

Alterion shook his head as he outlined the first rune with a finger, as if tracing them would give him a hint. In all his world-hopping, he’d seen many strange scripts such as these. Yet in all those worlds, he never understood them, instead seeking the help of the world’s inhabitants to decipher the words of the ancients. One would have thought Alterion may have developed a knack for predicting what may be said, but every last rune meant the same to him, no matter how much time had passed.

Cael looked back at the group, who shrugged their shoulders, before turning back to the symbols. “Intriguing,” was all he said.

Alterion straightened himself out, stepping back from the runic symbols. The other lions chattered excitedly as they crowded forward, running their hands on the foreign script; Asenath could be heard loudly wishing he’d had his phone with him for the – as the kids called it – the ‘clout’.

“We should consult the kingdoms,” Alterion spoke up as the noise died down.

The lions turned to him, but Maehwa was the first to respond. “Which one? Sky? Or sea?”

“Both.”

Silence overcome them at his curt reply, the lions looking at him as though he had grown an extra head.

“You’re kidding,” Maehwa deadpanned. “That’s looking for trouble.”

Alterion shook his head. “These runes could have been the origin of either kingdom – and I’m not saying we need them both here at the same time. We just need them to have a look.”

“But they will be sending their scholars to study, I presume,” Cael interjected. “Neither will let ancient history go without studying it first – whether it be from their own kingdom or not. In fact, it could possibly bring them the upper hand to have studied the opposition’s history.”

Alterion pondered the lion’s words, then nodding, he tried to come up with something else. The others did the same, putting their heads together for a moment.

“What about land? Do they maybe have a kingdom of their own?” Skye quietly said. “I mean, there must be a land kingdom… right?”

Alterion blinked – he hadn’t met anyone outside of the sky and sea kingdoms; he hadn’t questioned the fact that the land kingdom could have existed.

“Then I guess we’re going looking.”