“Long ago, when the world was new,” Elian began, “Luum and Sola were walking in the Elder Forest together. It was before the Eternal Waltz, when they were together everyday.”

As everyone knew, moon goddess Luum and sun goddess Sola were the world’s first lovers, and it was their love that had created the world and its creatures. When they learned how to dance, they had ascended into the stars in the Eternal Waltz.

All the Lords - both Night and Day - had been created by Luum and Sola, and so every story of their origin began with the goddesses.

“On this day, Luum had brought her harp, and played it as Sola sang,” the vampire went on, “And their song drew all the nearby creatures. And they began to sing as well - all save one.”

“The crow?” Alex asked, anticipating the next part.

Elian nodded, “Yes, your highness - the crow did not sing with the others, for he was ashamed of his voice.”

At this, the Crow Prince’s attention turned back to the table.

“Though he did not draw attention to himself, Luum saw him - she paused her playing to ask why he did not join the others. Was he unhappy?” the vampire recounted.

“‘No,’ the crow said,” the Prince chimed in, obviously familiar with the story, “‘But your song is so beautiful; I dare not ruin it with my voice.’”

“‘Nonsense,’ Luum insisted,” Elian replied, “‘How could a voice lifted in joy ever ruin a song?’”

“And so the crow sang,” the Prince sighed, taking over, “But, as all crows, his voice was harsh - it made the other animals and Sola laugh. Luum scolded them all, but the damage was done - the crow flew away in shame to hide.”

“Poor fellow,” Alex sighed, “Wha happened next?”

The Prince looked to Elian.

The vampire arched their brows and drank their “wine”.

Clearing his throat, the Prince went on, “Luum went after the crow - it was not his fault, after all. Sola went with her, to apologize for laughing. They searched far and wide, and found the crow at the edge of the Elder Forest - about to leave for the Great Waste.

“They stopped him before he took wing, and Sola did apologize,” the Prince said, shifting his weight, “‘I should not have laughed,’ she said, ‘Please, let me make it up to you.’”

“She offered him a beautiful voice,” Elian said, taking pity on their friend, “But Luum scolded her again - ‘he already has a beautiful voice, the problem was your mocking.’ Still, a beautiful voice was something the crow desperately wanted - and so Sola cleverly gave him a human form, so that he could sing in whichever way he desired.

“Luum was not blind to such trickery,” the vampire went on, “But if it was truly what the crow wanted, she could not well stand against it. She called his nest to her hands, and blessed it with her power - creating the Moonnest Crown.”

“Aptly named,” Alex laughed - not that his kingdom was any better at such matters.

“Indeed,” Elian smiled slightly, “It was not long after that other crows came to revere him as their sovereign - and so he became the Crow King.”

“Have you ever met him?” Alex asked, turning to his fiancé.

The Prince shifted his weight, then nodded, “Once - at my coming of age ceremony, a few years ago.”

“I’ve never met Auran,” Alex replied, “I don’t think they come to coming of age ceremonies.”

“How did… Auran… become a Day Lord?” his fiancé asked, attempting to be polite.

“Oh, nothing so poetic,” the prince replied, “I think they discovered gold and brought it to Sola, and she really liked it? Something like that.”

Elian snorted, “It is interesting, that some Lord origins are full of sentiment, and others are… not.”

“It’s certainly more interesting than the alternative,” Alex agreed, and stood, “So then - the tour?”

“Yes,” the Prince said, rising more sedately. He hesitated, and said, “Since we’re here, perhaps we should start with the gardens…?”

“Excellent,” his fiancé grinned, “Lead the way.”

“He’ll probably come,” the Prince said off-handedly, “The Crow King. To the wedding.”

“Really?” Alex asked, “How exciting!”

“The Crow King likes to keep up with his descendants,” Elian said, “He’s quite jovial, actually.”

“How fun,” the human prince said, grinning at his fiancé, “We just send reports to Auran.”

“I believe that is how most of the Lords operate,” Elian said.

“In any case,” the Prince said, “The tour.”

“Oh, yes, of course,” his fiancé said, smiling less exuberantly - but not because he was put out.

“This is the ah…” the Prince seemed to search for a word for a moment, “Viewing garden.”

“Most of the plants are poisonous, your highness,” Elian added, “I recommend keeping your distance.”

“Poisonous plants? So easily accessible?” Alex’s grin was back, “And so close to the castle?”

“Poisonous to you,” the Prince clarified, frowning and - after a moment - gently shifting his fiancé so that he walked on the side without poisonous plants.

Alex snorted good-naturedly at the gesture, and thought the Prince’s hands on his shoulders were warmer than he expected.

“Yes, and many of the plants benign to humans and other Day ken are quite toxic to us,” the vampire minister added, gently reaching out to caress some stalks of purple flowers.

“What are those?” the prince asked, dodging around his fiancé to get a better look - still keeping a respectable distance.

“Monksfoot,” Elian answered, “Eating the berries or touching the leaves would kill you.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate,” Alex said, “So touching any of the plants here will kill me?”

“No, there are some that are fine for you to touch,” the vampire said, taking out a handkerchief to wipe off their hands, “But unless you are intimately familiar with which is which…”

“No touching,” the prince said, nodding in agreement. He whirled on his heel, surprising his hovering fiancé, “Well then, where to next?”

“... the maze?” the Prince suggested, taking a few steps back before slowly turning to lead the way - stopping to check Alex was coming along.

“Oh I love mazes,” his fiancé said, skipping over to the taller man’s side - and then continuing to do so in order to keep up with the Crow Prince’s long strides, “So much fun! And great for hiding.”

The Prince tilted his head at Alex, and asked, “You were a troublesome child, weren’t you?”

“I’ve heard I’m a troublesome adult, too,” the shorter prince beamed.

“I believe that,” his fiancé said neutrally, leading the way through the viewing garden to a wide main path.

Alex bobbed his head as he followed, singing to himself, “Don’t touch the flowers or you’ll wind up dead~, Can’t get married if you wind up dead~”

Elian followed a few steps behind the pair, watching with amusement.

“The maze guards the front entrance to the castle,” the Prince said as they reached the back entrance.

“Practical,” Alex said, stopping his made-up song about dying. He looked a little closer and asked, “Berry bushes?”

“Brambles,” Elian clarified.

“Oh!” the prince said, “That makes far more sense than hedges. Much more of a deterrent to cutting through.”

“It’s not the only deterrent,” his fiancé added, “We currently have three minotaurs apprenticing to become labyrinth guards under our Maze Master.”

“I’ve never met a minotaur,” Alex said, peeking his head into the maze.

His fiancé hesitated before saying, “I am sure you will run into one of them eventually.”

“How old are they?” Alex continued, falling back into step as the Prince started walking towards a new offshoot, “Do they look like adult minotaurs, or are they baby minotaurs?”

“They are… young,” the Prince said, “The youngest is ten, the oldest fifteen. They… look their ages.”

“I’ll bet they’re cute,” his fiancé nodded, “Where are we going now?”

The Crow Prince blinked a few times at the rapid change in subject before speaking, “The geyser field.”

“What’s a geyser?” Alex asked.

“Boiling hot water that erupts from the ground,” Elian answered.

“That sounds amazing!” the prince said excitedly.

“And dangerous,” his fiancé cautioned, pausing near the beginning of the water feature. The ground was steaming here, covered in shallow pools of water.

A one of the small geysers erupted, Alex grinned and watched with wide eyes, “Much more interesting than a fountain.”

“There are also hot springs outside the castle grounds,” the Prince said, “Many people enjoy them.”

“I’d love to see them,” his fiancé said, “At some point.”

The Crow Prince nodded, and led the way through the geyser field to a new section, “The plants here are all carnivorous.”

“Carnivorous? They eat people?” Alex asked excitedly.

“Bugs, mostly,” Elian smiled, “Though the bigger ones can eat small animals.”

“Oh,” the prince seemed a bit disappointed by the clarification, “From all the stories, I would have expected man-eating plants.”

“... perhaps of a kind…” the Prince said, but quickly moved along, “The next section will take us back to the main path.”

Seeming to miss the aside, Alex followed along and gasped, “Whoa.”

“All of the statues are made of stones toxic to humans,” Elian chimed in.

Large, intimidating statues of various designs lined a winding stone path. At the center was a drake carved from polished cinnabar - rearing on its hindlegs and roaring a challenge.

“Is that Cedrin?” Alex asked, running up to it.

“Yes, in his younger years - have you met him?” the Prince asked, quick to follow.

His fiancé nodded, grinning up at the statue, “He’s so small - this must have been made centuries ago.”

“No,” the Crow Prince replied, shifting his weight, “It was created a few decades back, but based on a very old painting.”

“Had Cedrin seen it?” Alex asked, “I bet he’d love it!”

“He… has not,” the Prince replied, “But he is aware of its creation.”

“What else is there?” his fiancé asked, admiring the ten foot tall statue for a few more moments before turning back to the taller man.

“Only a few more places,” the Crow Prince replied, leading the way back to the main path.

“I can’t wait to see what else there is,” Alex grinned, “Everything is a fun new surprise!”

Across the way was a section of the garden with several willow trees, as well as fallen logs and small ponds.

“This is the mushroom garden,” the Prince explained, “The trees provide extra shade during the day.”

“Oh,” his fiancé said, ducking under the branches of the nearest tree to look inside, “Intriguing - it’s like a secret!”

“Not exactly,” Elian said, “Be mindful of spores, your highness.”

Alex backed out, laughing, “I feel like I won’t be spending much time in the garden - at least, no alone.”

“I’m sure your fiancé can accompany you,” the vampire minister suggested, “Since his highness already spends a great deal of time in the gardens..”

“What do you do?” the shorter prince asked, clasping his hands behind his back as they resumed walking.

The Crow Prince looked back at Elian with a frown, then sighed and said, “I compose.”

“So you do like music!” Alex grinned, “Elian said you don’t really like to sing, so I was a bit worried.”

The Prince hummed disapprovingly.

“What do you compose?” the shorter man asked.

“I mainly compose for the pipe organ,” his fiancé replied, “Sonatas - but I occasionally dabble in… arias.”

“I’d love to hear them sometime,” Alex grinned, then thought for a moment before tilting his head, “You compose for the pipe organ in the garden?”

“You will see,” the Prince said, leading the way into a new section of the garden.

“Topiary?” the human prince asked, looking around.

“Living topiary,” Elian said.

“Why is it so still then?” Alex asked, looking around, then gasped, “Is it shy?”

“Yes, actually,” the Crow Prince answered.

“That’s adorable,” his fiancé said, waving at the lion they passed, “Will they kill me if I touch them?”

“Only if you give them a reason to,” Elian said wryly.

“And this is the last section,” the Crow Prince announced, waving an arm forward, “It is the safest place for you, as well.”

“A moon garden,” Alex grinned, then laughed, “And I see what you meant now.”

The moon garden - dedicated to Luum - had concentric white marble paths, and in the center of this one was an outdoor pipe organ. The flowers here were nightblooms or moth attractors - as moths were Luum’s emissaries.

“Well, since we’re here,” Alex said, darting around to the instrument, “Would you play me something?”

The Crow Prince opened his mouth, then closed it before replying, “Perhaps another time.”

“Are you shy, too?” the shorter prince asked, turning back to lean up closer to the taller man.

The Prince cleared his throat, and said, “I... just don’t feel like playing at the moment.”

“Well, alright,” his fiancé said, turning back to study the organ, “It’s a beautiful instrument - was it always here?”

“No,” the Prince said, slowly following behind, “I had it installed.”

Alex hummed and softly vocalized as he studied the rest of the only garden he could freely explore. The Crow Prince took a seat at the organ’s bench, studying his strange fiancé in much the same way. It was hard to tell what he thought of the human from the mostly neutral expression on his face.

“It seems that concludes the tour of the gardens,” Elian prompted after several minutes, watching both men with amusement.

“On to the castle then?” Alex asked, abandoning the plant he was admiring and walking back over smartly.

“Yes,” the Crow Prince agreed, rising, “To Shadowpeak.”