Ah, Meseta. It had been several years since the last time Clover set foot in the big city. While a visit to his alma mater -- Academia Violeta -- was so darn tempting, that's not even what he was here for. Instead, Guildmaster Lunick had directed him to get a Traveler's Writ from Queen Sagita before setting out for the Way of the Storm, so here he was.
As soon as he arrived at Castle Meseta, Clover told the guards that he would like to meet Queen Sagita. Specifically, he needed to get a Traveler's Writ from her.
"Are you going to walk the Way of the Storm too?" one of the guards asked, seemingly implying that there were some people before Clover who had come to the castle for the very same purpose.
"Yes."
"I will inform Her Majesty that you wish to see her." the guard assured Clover. "If she is not busy, a herald will escort you to the throne room."
"Ah, thank you," Clover gave the guard a nod of gratitude right before the latter left. The Eevee soon found himself reminiscing about his school days while waiting. From the simple things like hanging out with friends and attending school events to that one time when a senior prank went horribly wrong -- so much that Principal Turo had to intervene. Boy was that last one nerve-wrecking.
After a few tense minutes, a Vaporeon herald arrived. "This way, please -- Her Majesty has agreed to see you," they immediately led the red mage (?) to the throne room where a beautiful Espathra, in all her finery, was seeing off another resident of Meseta that had requested a Traveler's Writ. The room itself was pretty quiet in the late morning as Clover had noticed.
"Sir Clover of the adventurer's guild, milady." the Vaporeon announced. Of course Clover stood up straight upon being addressed as 'sir' by the Vaporeon. Even moreso when he had to mentally remind himself that the Espathra over there was the one he was supposed to meet. Still, the Eevee stepped into the throne room, trying to look confident despite being a nervous wreck inside as soon as the other mon went their merry way and bowed to the Espathra.
"Greetings, Sir Clover." Queen Sagita began. "Guildmaster Lunick tells me you wish to walk the Way of the Storm--is that correct?"
And then Clover blinked. Did the guildmaster really have to tell Her Majesty about this? No wonder the queen could simply name-drop the guildmaster like that. "Yes, Your Majesty. I am," Clover said regardless while trying to hide his disbelief.
Queen Sagita snapped, spurring an attendant to hurry off somewhere. "The Way of the Storm commemorates the journey of the Storm Knight, as told in 'The Song of Storms' -- just as the Storm Knight did in olden times, do you promise to walk the Way of the Storm with honor and respect?" she asked in the meantime. Yep, "The Song of Storms", the one song Sabian people would at least be familiar with. Clover was no minstrel, but even he knew what the song was basically about. He probably would need to review the details later, though.
"Yes, ma'am. I promise," Clover solemnly said after Queen Sagita finished speaking. He then raised his head to find the attendant from before coming in with an ornate piece of paper. The young mage also witnessed Queen Sagita writing something on it (it was actually the queen filling in some details, signing the document and sealing it but he couldn't see the whole process) and tying it up with a purple bow before handing it to him ("Here you are--may Arceus' favor be on your journey," she said). Clover then gratefully thanked the queen with one last bow before moving out once he's allowed to. Not without the queen's parting words, "Arceus' blessings on your journey," of course.
Once he was out, Clover went to an open diner to have a lunch. He took a seat, ordered a butterscotch-cinnamon pie and a cup of Tapu Cocoa, and contemplating if he could open the sealed document now or if he had to wait until the actual journey started. However...
"And one last thing, Clover."
"Yeah?"
"Whatever you do, do not open the writ."
Guildmaster Lunick's voice suddenly rang in the back of his mind. Sighing as he put the writ away, the Eevee opted to open his novel instead. He just started reading the thing, so naturally curiosity ensued about what the fictional princess would do after the god-person had revealed that one of her servants was actually her long lost twin.
Unfortunately for Clover, he didn't get far enough into the story when his orders came. Putting his book away, he couldn't help but to contemplate on the talks in town about a shiny Sylveon minstrel from the land of Ardamore, and how some said she defeated dragons with only her voice. Plus, it's not just the Singer of Miracles herself -- there were also talks about one of her former allies back in Ardamore actually visiting Sabia for reasons only they and Arceus knew. Many guesses ensued regarding who this visitor was: some said it was the Justice in Frost, some said it was the Lunar Knight, and some said it was the Mastermind in Alltrades.
While Clover found all these rumors interesting, he didn't really expect to meet any of these Ardamorian heroes anytime soon. He kept eating his pie anyway.