Erik had seen many wonders in his life. He had seen golems that could dwarf human castles, balloons that could drift through the skies, and architectural marvels of the dwarven people. The very carriage that rolled along ivory stones was an engineering marvel. However as he stared out his window at the elven city beyond he found that this was perhaps the most magnificent. Not normally fond of elves it was a rather high compliment for Erik to even think such a thing.

A massive canopy of trees had replaced the sky, strange blue growths of fungi glowing from above like thousands of gleaming stars. Stray golden beams of light managed to dapple down between the thickets, informing one of the daylight beyond. Exquisitely carved buildings were held aloft on great ancient branches and roots. A lake glittered silver in the very center of the city, the statue in the center was of a massive and heart achingly beautiful elven woman. A goddess of their pantheon perhaps?

Erik heard a sharp intake of breath to his right and saw a similarly dazzled expression on Ryna's face. Her nose was pressed up against the glass, fogging it up slightly as she took in the sights with wonder gleaming in her eyes. Lucius regarded it all with a soft smile on his face. Considering how well travelled he was the prince wasn't exactly shocked by his lack of reaction. Instead he removed his little book of names and cleared his throat to get their attention. Ryna sighed and set Erik down on his cushion once more, both giving the older man their full attention.

"Elrina Myssia is next on the list. Second in line for the throne and before now was rather adamant in even permitting suitors to see her. A fairly secluded woman by all accounts, very evasive. Rarely leaves her villa in the Noble Quarter. I possess little information about her general reputation unfortunately, my prince." Lucius said, his tone apologetic.

Elrina Myssia... the name sounded familiar to the homunculus. After a few moments he remembered it as another name mentioned by Lea. Supposedly a shy elven princess, pleasant enough though. After his previous visits he would actually welcome someone who was relatively calm and decidedly not crazy. A refreshing change from the usual visits hopefully. Unless Lea was off the mark entirely and she was a moronic, sex crazed, incestuous and violent example of elven royalty.

"Well, she's elven. The elves are well known for their poise, grace, and decorum. No doubt she will be a fine maiden, my prince." Ryna assured, crossing her arms and nodding to herself.

"The elves are leery of homunculi in general. To them we are unnatural constructs created by a human seeking to stand at the shoulders of the gods. More extreme examples of their people call us blasphemous in the eyes of their gods. Do not assume anything, Ryna." Erik replied, his lips turning down into a prominent frown.

The knight winced at his reprimand. "Apologies, my prince. Though perhaps since she did accept your father's request she might be more amenable."

"We shall see. I want both you and Lucius on high alert. I would rather not fall to an assassin's blade or zealot's wrath." He commanded.

"Of course, your grace, no assassin shall harm you while we stand watch." Lucius said.

With that said Erik gestured for Ryna to hold him up to the window again. The knight held out her gauntleted hand and held it aloft at the window, giving him full view of the world outside. His newest retainer had proven rather capable, though still remained as clumsy as ever. It was hard for him to believe she hadn't impaled herself with her own sword by now. Lucius had tested her prowess one day while Erik slept; all the older man had said was that she was indeed worthy of her title. Perhaps the clumsiness was a front then? Some means of throwing those around her off their guard?

Regardless, despite his reservations regarding the elves the prince would be the first to admit their city was a marvel to behold. In many ways it was the opposite of his own homeland. Here everything looked natural, blending seamlessly together in a vista of vibrant color and life. Eteria was a place forged of metal and magic, molded and carved out from the land. It was shaped to suit the homunculi. There was no symbiosis involved and his people were proud of that.

The carriage itself earned no small amount of gawkers and onlookers, elves of all types peering at the mechanical device with wonder. The carriage rolled along a particularly thick root, one used as a wide street of sorts and ascended the central tree of the city. Guard's stood wearing armor of leather and cloth. Not a scrap of metal was found upon them, not even their weapons appeared to be made of metal. Their arrows and spears were tipped with the same ivory white stone. It was an odd sight. Erik thought it primitive, his nose wrinkling slightly in distaste. It was a foolish thing, throwing away the uses of metal for stone.

Elves were renowned for their beauty and it was honestly hard for Erik to find any elf he saw outside unattractive. They possessed a strange style of clothing. The men favored shirts that possessed sleeves and a hem but left their slim chests exposed. They also wore a form of kilt, which traced to an old dwarven joke that all elves wore skirts. Even the men. The women typically wore tunics with a very deep V-neck, knee length skirts, and sandals. Liberal was what Erik would generously describe it as.

The carriage rolled through the forest city, ascending higher and higher. Eventually the residential districts vanished and instead places of worship and congregation grew more common. Erik could hear quite clearly choirs of lyrical voices all rose in song and praise to their various deities. Here was where there were more dirty looks directed at the carriage as opposed to wide eyed wonder. The prince brushed it off, scoffing at their weak minded superstitions. The homunculi had no need for gods. They knew exactly who had made them and why he had done it. There was no illusory grand design to it.

Eventually the wheels of the carriage halted before a massive palace of ivory and flowing waters. It was from here that the waters of the lake came from. A waterfall of clear and cool water cascading below, casting a rainbow upon the city. It flowed out through a canal of sorts, the bridge handing over it leading into the palace proper. It was from two passageways on either side of the palace the water continued to flow. Magic perhaps? An enchantment? Something to take up with the princess perhaps.

The doors of the carriage opened and the prince and his cadre stepped out from it. Erik took a deep breath. The air here smelled more... clean he supposed. More crisp, more natural, if there were such smells. At the bridge there was a young elven man who greeted them with a bow. Well, at least no one had brought out the pitchforks or whatever the elven equivalent was so it was a start.

"Greetings, Prince Erik Lostrem. Her grace, Princess Elrina Myssia, awaits the pleasure of your company at the palace shrine." He stated, his common flawless.

The prince nodded and waved a hand to signal for the man to carry out his charge. He led them over the bridge and into the courtyard proper, the calming sound of running water filling the ears of the visitors. The strange blue lights upon the tree were much closer now that they were so high up, humming softly. The palace itself was a strange blend of masonry and natural additions, gnarled roots and branches seeming to mesh with elven construction. It was like nothing Erik had ever laid eyes upon.

They were led through the western wing of the palace, occasionally happening upon canals in the halls where more of the water flowed. Blue lamps of the harvested blue substance glowed here, casting everything in a soft blue light. Erik was rather impressed despite himself; the elves were quite inventive when they needed to be. If they could get past their preposterous religious dogma they might actually be an equal to the homunculi one day. Maybe. Given another two hundred years of course.

Finally they arrived at a set of doubles doors which the servant cracked open. He stopped the procession from entering with a raised hand and an apologetic look. "The princess would like to speak with the prince alone. She is someone... reclusive."

Erik frowned before nodding to Lucius. "I'm used to it by this point. Try not to get into too much trouble."

"I was about to say the same thing, my prince." The older man remarked as he set Erik down near the opening between the doors.

With that the homunculus left both of his retainer's behind and stepped into the shrine. It was dimly lit and as massive as most other rooms in the palace, though his size might have contributed to the appearance. Pews were arranged in neat rows and at the very end of the hall knelt an elven woman, her back turned to Erik as she prayed at her shrine. The shrine itself bore a statue of the same woman that had towered over the center of the lake so he had been right in assuming her a goddess.

Long golden hair cascaded down her back, smooth and seemingly without a lock out of place. She wore the same style of dress as other elven females though this one was cream colored with trims of gold. She wore nothing on her slender feet, her position displaying them for any to look upon. Her voice whispered words in the elven tongue, sounding more like music than like a normal person speaking.

Erik approached her cautiously for a few moments closing the distance as she prayed before her shrine. Eventually he ended up feeling more than a little put out. He had travelled all this way to see her and she couldn't even bother to stop praying to note his entrance. It prickled at his pride and was what prompted him to dip into a bit of illusionism to amplify his voice when he cleared his throat.

It was when the startled princess stood and turned to face him that he found the line between mortal and goddess blurred.

On his journey thus far he had met many beauties; even Eva Redfist had been moderately attractive for being a dwarf. Every single one of them paled in comparison to the one peering down at him now. Her angular delicately shaped features were utter perfection. She was as slim as they came though her form was suitably filled, not overtly but not overly modest either. As Erik looked upon what he was certain was the apex of physical perfection he felt an urge to kneel and be the one doing the praying.

"You- you must be Prince Lostrem. I'm so very sorry; I got wrapped up in my prayers and didn't notice you!" She said, a flush climbing to her cheeks.

"Not a problem. I take it you are Princess Myssia then?"

"Y-Yes, Princess Elrina Myssia. I-Its an honor to meet you." She stuttered, bowing a little too quickly and stiffly.

Erik raised a brow as she started to fidget openly. Her blue eyes were darting from him to the floor at her feet and the pews, trying to avoid direct eye contact. It appeared the rumors of her shy nature weren't exaggerated. Still this was a pleasant surprise compared to watching Eva pound a man's face in for the sheer sport of it. He gave a polite incline of his head to the giant elven princess.

From there an awkward silence seemed to rule the air between them. Elrina was busy looking anywhere but him with the nearest exit being a location she looked to multiple times. Erik meanwhile was trying to overcome his own awe at the elf which was probably not helping. Between his gawking and her skittish nature things were not looking to start off in the most smashing of ways.

Finally Erik cleared his throat. "So... did you want to do anything today?" He asked.

"Not really..." She said.

The silence immediately returned. This was worse than how Marie had started off. Erik tried again.

"Your clothes look nice."

"Thank you."

More silence hung over the pair. The prince let out a weary sigh. So far she wasn't as bad as any of the others at first impressions but the silence was starting to grate on his nerves. He needed to think of something to get this going. The prince tossed aside most small talk topics as it was clear those weren't going to go anywhere. Perhaps a different route might avail them in this case.

"Maybe we could take a walk around the palace. I'm curious how the water flowing around here is generated." He said.

"Oh, uh, sure! Right this way." The princess said, hurriedly walking past Erik so fast that her skirt kicked up a harsh wind and the prince had to jump out of the way to avoid her bowling him over.

"Hey, wait! I can't keep up with you." He called out.

Elrina jerked to a halt mid-step halfway across the room and turned in place to face Erik. "So, how are we going to take a walk then?"

Erik lifted a brow. "By you carrying me?"

At that her blue eyes shot comically wide and she looked on the verge of panic at the mere thought of her handling him in any capacity. The shade her face took on was something Erik would have described as cherry red. The homunculus let out another sigh as she started stumbling over her words. He had met shy homunculi in his days at the Academy but Elrina was in a class all her own.

"B-B-But what if I drop you or something!?" She blurted out.

"Then the landing will hurt. Homunculi are very durable. Just try to avoid dropping me." He said as calmly as he could.

The elven maiden approached the homunculus gingerly; almost tip toeing her way over to him. She reached down and lightly pressed her thumb and forefinger against his back and chest before lifting him up. With some nervous worry he noted she was holding him out at arm's length and that her grip was anything but sure. He shook his head slightly. He predicted this was going to be a very long day.