(Third Person POV)
[Draecopis Kingdom, Sun and Moon Realm]
The Distorted Godlands is a dimension full of power and mysteries, housing several realms that are home to many wonders. Those within the Godlands either have the potential to become great powers or are as mundane as those from the Earthen Realm. The Godlands have been the destination of many "Cosmic Travelers" over the years.
Each realm is vast and is either filled with mortal civilizations or horrors beyond anyone's dreams. One of these realms is the Sun and Moon Realm, which houses around five major nations altogether. The Realm is vast in it of itself, and each Nation is isolated by natural barriers and even the dimensional rifts themselves. Within the realm, three nations are direct neighbors, having a history of war.
One of these nations is known as the Draecopis Kingdom, which resembles a Fantastical Medieval World. Ruled by a King, the vast nation consists mostly of humans, with other fantastical races being quite rare. Should they be discovered or spotted, it would be within the borders of Draecopis and the other nations.
Draecopis has had a history of war and bloodshed, even within itself. They have not only fought against the nation of Kazuha, led by the Nakamura Shogunate, but they have also fought off the Tyras Dynasty, which has tried to invade many times. But those two neighboring Nations are not the top of their worries; there are much worse to deal with in the Sun and Moon Realm.
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On the outskirts of the Moonryse, the Draecopis Capital, there was a large gathering of people, having heard of a merchant caravan passing through. Many commoners were expecting exotic animals and items from a specific merchant, having lined up next to the massive stone ramparts, waiting as the carriages passed through.
They all saw as horses pulled on the wagons and carriages, several armored riders were next to them, escorting them. Some of them were in awe of how much luggage the caravan had brought this time.
"Whoa..." a short man said, "Seems that the merchant trading went good this time."
"Yea." another said, "I guess these come from Kazuha, which is quite surprising. How can they pass the Valley of Whispers without issue? It's baffling!"
"Must be the work of their escorts." the man said, "I hear they have sorcerers on their payroll."
"Won't surprise me." the other said, "But I'm sure they've stopped all over the Kingdom by now. Midtown and Greenpyke are major spots to stop by."
The man turned to see behind him, "Yea..." He said, "And here in Moonryse, this is but the first stop. I do wonder what they have for the Merchants of the Capital."
"I do wonder that myself." the other said
The man saw the massive walls of the city, containing the inner districts. In the far distance, a massive black stone castle was seen. With towers that reached high into the sky, nearly piercing the clouds, the large Castle was a symbol of how great the Draecopian Royal Family was. To commoners such as them, the mere sight of this popular merchant caravan was just a taste, something they could only hope to see in their lifetimes.
They would never think that they could buy anything from there, but simply seeing the goods is more than enough.
As the caravan passed, they saw the armed riders going along, giving serious scowls to the commoners as they gripped their weapons tightly. It was quite a normal reaction to such a large crowd. They never know if there will be an ambush to the caravan, considering that the goods onboard were quite valuable.
At the back of the caravan, the people saw that a massive wagon was being carted over. There was a massive iron box on a wagon, being pulled by many oxen. That was quite strange, since mostly horses were the ones that pulled the wagons. This told the commoners that whatever was housed there was quite massive and heavy.
"Whoa." one of them said, "What do you think that is?"
"I don't know. Maybe an elephant?" The other said, "But selling such animals is outlawed no? The Tyras Dynasty has those beasts protected."
"Whatever it is, it's dangerous." another man said, "Maybe it's a dormant Wyvern."
"A wyvern?" another said, "in the city? The merchants won't be so stupid."
They simply watched as the Merchant Caravan passed, a bit disappointed that they spotted no exotic animals this time. Usually, a certain merchant had animals and beasts on display, showing them to the commoners.
But alas, it was not the case this time.
**********
Inside the Merchant District, within the inner walls of the Capital, a large gathering was seen in the district's center. There was a large and burly man wearing a gold robe and adorned with jewelry. He was bald with a round face and several warts on his nose and face.
He smirked as he saw the crowd before him, consisting of middle-class citizens and some nobles. Behind him, a massive cage covered in a tarp was seen. Those gathered were rather curious about what was within it. They had seen that the Caravan brought a massive wagon that held an iron box. Because of this, they were filled with curiosity, wondering what the Merchant had brought this time to the city.
"Come and gather!" He bellowed with a raspy voice, "And feast your eyes in today's prized item! For 100,000 gold coins, you can have it!"
A Noblewoman wearing a maroon dress and white gloves scowled, "100,000?" She said, covering her face with her fan, "That's quite pricey, what in the heavens is it?"
"This better be worth it Roland." a Nobleman said with a scowl, "100,000 gold coins for whatever this is? Give me a break!"
Roland, The Merchant, smirked even more, "Oh but this is an exotic specimen!" He said, "Rarer than an Unicorn, I must say! I promise you, 100,000 coins is but a steal!"
"Unicorns aren't real, dumbass!" a man leaning against a wall said with a chuckle, "The last one you brought was just a deer with a deformed antler, hahaha!"
"Unicorns are real!" Roland exclaimed, "But nevermind that! I tell you, Kazuha's Yokai are nothing compared to what I got my hands on! The rarest of races! I present to you....."
As he said that, two men pulled down the tarp, causing everyone to gasp in surprise at what was behind the bars of the cage.
"What?!" a Nobleman said as he dropped his cane, "Impossible! I thought they didn't exist!!"
Inside the cage, wearing massive rags, was what looked like a giant woman, around 8-9 feet tall. She had blonde hair, which flowed past her shoulders and reached her waist. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of green, with a sad glint to them. She had a large and curvy body, with breasts so large that they nearly burst out of her shirt. Her thighs were meaty and thigh, clearly exposed. Despite sitting down, the men were able to see that she had a nice, large ass as well.
What was most striking about this large woman was her elven ears, which pointed outwards. This was quite unusual, even for Elves. The High-Elves could only get to 7 feet tall, being their max height. Anything larger than that would be considered an anomaly. But a woman who was eight or nine feet tall would be easily classified as a half-giant.
And this woman was a Giant-Elf Hybrid.
"A Giant Elf!" one of the men said, "In the flesh!!"
There was an uproar of excitement in the crowd, with some of the noblemen getting their coinpurses and others yelling at their servants to bring their gold to them.
The Giant Elf was looking down, clearly uncomfortable with all of this. She had a metal collar on her neck, which was tightly fitted on her. She also had iron shackles on her wrists, connected with massive chains that were bound to the bottom of the age.
"That is right, A Giant Elf!!" the Merchant said with a smug smirk, "We caught this one in the Valley of Whispers! For 100,000 gold coins, she is yours! She is a good girl, this one. She could act as your maid or servant, or whatever you desire her to be."
"I'll take her!" one of the men said, "I'll pay the gold now!"
"No, I'll take her!" the other exclaimed, "I'll pay 5,000 extra!"
"I'll pay 15,000 extra!!" A third man said
As the crowd were getting closer, armed guards stood in front of the Merchant and the cage, circling around them. They were keeping the crowd at pay, holding their spears by their side.
"Ah!" Roland said, "A bidding war, you say? Well, well, well.....this is-"
"You'll do no such thing." A voice said
"Who said that?!" a Nobleman said, "Who is trying to keep me from buying a Giant Elf! I'll make sure their fingers are broke-"
He had turned around and widened his eyes, immediately shutting up as he saw who was walking towards them.
The crowd had parted for a tall man wearing regal garments, who had his hands in his pockets as he walked. He had pitch-black hair, combed neatly to the side. His eyes were a piercing silver, which was an odd color for someone to have. Behind him, men-at-arms were walking, holding a large black banner with the royal sigil; a sword pointing downwards while in front of a silver crescent moon.
This told everyone that this man was a representative of the Royal Family, which is why all of them fell silent as he walked through.
The Merchant's face went pale, "O-Oh...." He stammered, "W-What are you doing here?"
The man stopped in front of the Merchant, "You." He said, "Your head is a bit too high, ain't it?"
His eyes narrowed, piercing right through the burly man.
Roland immediately dropped to both his knees, "I humbly apologize, great one!" he exclaimed, "P-Prince Kristoff!!"
"Prince Kristoff?!" one of the Nobles exclaimed in surprise, "What is he doing in the Merchant District?! The Heir to the Draecopis Kingdom!"
"The Silver Moon Prince...." another said as they all stepped back in alarm, "What is he doing over here, this unprecedented!"
Prince Kristoff looked at the merchant, "Selling people is outlawed, merchant." He said seriously, "You do know that."
"M-My Prince, the laws dictate that only Humans are banned from being sold." the Merchant looked up at him, "T-That would only mean-"
"Slavery is also illegal." Kristoff said
"A-Again, only Humans are exempt from that." Roland said, "This is not against the law, My Prince. She is a Giant Elf, a hybrid species between-"
"Elves and Giants." Kristoff said as he took his hands out of his pocket, "I am well aware. But as far as I am concerned, that does not excuse the unlawful trafficking of a person. Elf, Orc, Fairy, or Giant. It doesn't matter what they are, merchant. Draecopis is not a Slaver Kingdom, do you understand?"
"But the laws dictat-" Roland started
"You think your word is above mine?" Kristoff stepped forward, looking down at him, "Hm? Tell me, is that it?"
"No, of course not." The Merchant said, "I would never do that. It's not outlawed; this is completely acceptable. If you don't mind, you could ask your father, the King."
Kristoff tilted his head, "Hm." He said, "Are you looking down at me, merchant? A Merchant Lord who has gotten to where he is by exploiting the flawed laws of this nation. Do you think that because you're old and ugly, you can look down at me? Hm?"
The Merchant shook his head, "It is well within my right to sell this Giant Elf." he said, "She was procured in the Valley of Whispers! By the treaties between Draecopis and Kazuha, any item procured in the border regions is acceptable to sell!"
Kristoff looked back at the crowd, "And you lot were willing to buy a defenseless woman?"
The nobles were looking to the side, awkwardly shifting among themselves.
"Disgusting." Kristoff said as he spat on the ground, "I forbid this from happening. Release the woman."
"What?!" Roland said, "It is my right by law, Prince Kristoff! Even the Prince is not above the law-"
"That's where you're wrong." Kristoff said as his men walked past the merchant and began to open the cage, "I am above the Law. I just don't abuse that right."
As they released the woman, taking off her shackles and collar, she looked at Kristoff with a surprised expression. She was completely silent the entire time, unsure of what to say.
"No, Prince Kristoff!" Roland said as the woman slowly crawled out of the cage, looking around with a scared expression, "That woman was mine to sell."
"Tch." Kristoff glared at him, "Pay the man."
One of his men grabbed a small coin purse and tossed it at the merchant's feet. Roland grabbed it and opened it, widening his eyes in shock.
"C-Copper pennies?!" He explain, "This won't pay for scraps of what we eat here!!"
Kristoff waved him off dismissively, "That's all you'll get from me." He said, "I have spoken, Merchant. People are not for sale, so I won't pay you what you want. That woman is now under my protection."
"Y-Your protection?" Roland said
Kristoff gestured at the woman, "Get her something to cover herself properly." He said, "Those rags are too damn thin and short."
"Yes, Prince Kristoff." one of his men said as they walked over to the tarp
They used their blades to cut up some of the tarp, tossing it over the woman's shoulders, who was still on all fours.
"I...." the woman finally spoke, looking at Kristoff
"This is unacceptable!!" Roland said, "You won't get away with this!!!"
Kristoff looked at the merchant, "Oh?" He said, "Is that a threat? You all heard that right?"
He was speaking to the crowd of nobles, who were merely looking away with nervousness.
Kristoff's men drew their swords, glaring at the Merchant. The guards that were around simply stood back, trying not to get involved in this.
Roland's face went pale, "Prince Kristoff...."
"I'll be lenient enough to let that slide." Kristoff said with a serious expression, "I find out that you are selling illegal items or people, I will arrest you. You will spend the rest of your life in the dark dungeons of my castle, do you understand?"
Roland looked down, "F-Fine...."
Kristoff walked over to the woman, his men pushing aside the Merchant as he did so, "You." He said as he stopped in front of you, "You are quite the big one. What's your name?"
The woman looked at him, "V-Valindra...." She said softly, "My name is Valindra."
Her voice was sweet and calm, a nice tone that Kristoff was a fan of.
Kristoff nodded, "Very well, Valindra." He said with a slight smile, "You are now under my care."
"Worry not, I'll take good care of you."