Late morning sunlight filtered through the canopy of the elf forest, dappling the mossy ground in shifting golds and greens. Birds chirped with choreographed cheer. Mana wisps floated lazily above the grass, like bored fireflies with nowhere to be.
Fuhiken stood on a tree stump podium, scroll in hand, wearing the faint smirk of someone pretending this was all part of a clever plan.
"Alright!" he declared. "Today, we give names to the regions of Exiastgardsun!"
Silence.
Kyle raised a hand. "Is there a prize?"
"Be my guest. The cow's in a good mood today. Might only toss you halfway to the lake," Fuhiken smirked.
Kyle lowered his hand. "Lame."
Fuhiken cleared his throat, still grinning. "Lucretia gave me a scroll, this scroll, assigning me to run a 'team bonding event.' The theme: Naming territories. She wrote in elegant calligraphy: 'Make it fun. Or else.'"
That last part might have been a joke. Might.
The participants gathered in a loose semi-circle: Kyle, sitting cross-legged with a candy stick in his mouth; Fahleena, striking a dramatic pose with a wind-blown scarf (despite no wind); Gigih, flipping through his spellbook like it was a baby name catalog for arcane locations; and Sakura, who had brought a picnic blanket and three muffins for "creative focus."
Yuuna sat quietly nearby with a book titled 'Reasonable Urban Planning.' She didn't join the naming, but flipped a page and commented dryly, "Not my department. Consult the Chuunibyou Division."
Fuhiken held up his quill. "Let's begin! First region: the northern mountains, home of the dwarves. Suggestions?"
Kyle was first, raising a hand. "Dwargo."
Fuhiken blinked. "That's... actually solid."
"Sounds tough. Like dwarves." Kyle popped the rest of the candy stick into his mouth.
Fahleena pirouetted with flair. "I submit: Alkarian Highforge Citadel of the Molten Kings!"
Yuuna glanced up. "That sounds like a tourist trap and a fire hazard."
"…That's a paragraph," Fuhiken teased.
"It's poetic," Fahleena corrected. "You just lack vision."
Sakura, mouth full, raised her hand halfway. "Um. Muffinland."
Yuuna didn't even look up. "Only if we plan to be taken seriously by baked goods."
Fuhiken asks: "Of all possible inspirations... why?"
"I was eating a muffin."
"…Noted," Fuhiken said, scribbling with mock seriousness.
Gigih's turn. He adjusted his oversized cloak. "Obsidian Nexus of Hammerfall Prime."
Yuuna blinked. "Sounds like the final dungeon. Passable."
Fuhiken's quill hovered uncertainly. "Okay. Next region: South. Human city."
Kyle leaned back on his elbows. "Machinia."
Yuuna looked up from her book. "Sounds mechanical. The name resembles something like, Gundam."
Kyle tilted his head. "What's a Gundam?"
"A humanoid battle machine, usually piloted from the inside. Think of it as a highly advanced, metallic golem engineered for combat," Yuuna explained in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.
Kyle's eyes widened. "That sounds awesome. Do we have those here?"
"Not unless someone builds one," Yuuna replied, returning to her book.
Fuhiken nodded again. "You're oddly good at this."
"I'm good at naming things I will likely blow up later."
Fahleena whipped out a second scroll. "I submit: Celestialis of the Searing Crucible of Progression and Steel-Bound Oaths of Mortality's Edge."
Everyone just stared. Even the breeze seemed to pause. Kyle blinked slowly like his brain needed a moment to reboot. Sakura looked down at her muffin as if questioning reality. Gigih muttered something about needing protective wards for long titles. Fuhiken stared blankly, wondering if this counted as a magical curse. Yuuna quietly reached for her notebook, scribbling what looked suspiciously like a psychiatric evaluation.
"...You good?" Kyle asked.
"Always," Fahleena said, eyes shining with chuunibyou fire.
Sakura raised her hand again. "Toastville."
Fuhiken squinted. "Do you just name things after breakfast?"
"No." Beat. "Sometimes lunch too."
Gigih murmured something in ancient Elvan, translating moments later: "Chronostrata."
Yuuna nodded faintly. "Finally, something that doesn't scream midlife magical crisis."
Fuhiken scribbled everything down with deadpan professionalism. "Okay. Next prompt…"
Yuuna flipped another page, glanced over Fahleena's shoulder, sighed, and muttered, "That's a zoning violation waiting to happen."
"I told you," Fahleena said proudly, "I'm the visionary."
Fuhiken looked at the list so far and tried not to think too hard. He had two solid names. And a muffin-themed continent.
Progress.
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