Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light
Or just another lost angel...City of Night
- Jim Morrison, the Doors, L.A. Woman,
It took two hours for them to get to the furthest outskirts. The city was more and more overwhelming the closer they came. Great barges brought food and supplies, wagons drawn by teams of large oxen labored to bring materials for the workshops- and food, sacks, and barrels of food. People, most of them clothed in poor and threadbare clothing lined the busy streets here in the lower city, beggars shouted their plea for alms. And then there was the stench hanging over all of it, with accents of smoke and soot to irritate the back of the throat. The main streets were kept clean and Alyssa saw patrols of mailed soldiers supplementing the more lightly armored city guard wearing the colors of Margrinar, yellow and blue. But a glimpse of the alleys revealed garbage and the destitute who had to live there. Great posts of stone held globes of a scratched crystalline material inscribed with runes.
“Seems like a bigger version of those glowy globes,” Mireille commented.
“That seems about right.” Alea shut her book and leaned towards the window where she pulled back the curtain to see what they were talking about.
They left the poor quarters and crossed the river, the bridge was a marvel of architectural design rivaling or even exceeding the elven construction they had witnessed on the other side of the mountains. Bounded by two large towers and held aloft by another two standing side by side with the road in between, built on a probably artificial island in the midst of the river. The bridge was raised high enough that even sailing ships could pass underneath, this seemed to be impossible but for the use of magic.
The warehouses, inns, and shops along the streets grew rarer as they turned and left the great throughway of the merchant quarter. A big gate in the second ring of walls loomed at the end of the street, nearly twenty yards high. It was crowned with fluttering pennants, an iron portcullis visible from beneath. The guards stationed here took a look at their coat of arms, the sergeant nodded towards the leading carriage and knocked twice. The horse's hoofs and the wheels of the wagon echoed while they passed through.
The roads here were clean and the pavement even and of high quality, they drove through winding quiet streets, lined with great mansions covered with ivy and wild vine before they arrived at a small townhouse with a narrow and modest garden protected by high walls topped with metal spikes. Beside the gate, a plaque showed the coat of arms of Graufurt.
They drove through the gates and into a big carriage entrance leading into a courtyard with a stable and space to store the coaches. Two stablehands opened the way. Both coaches and the horses of Maximilian and the three brothers out of Kruog entered.
Colonnaded walkways surrounded the yard and the marble face of a mythical river god spat water into a great white basin filled with water Lillies. Small flower beds were placed alongside the columns, wild wine climbed the walls and because of the season shone with a rich red color.
Two servants greeted them as they exited the carriage.
A woman of about forty years, black and grey hair bound back severely, her handsome face impassive, stepped forward and bowed, “Greetings young master, young mistress. I am Viola Silversmith the head of this household's servants, I hope your stay will be pleasant. If you need anything let us know. Rooms have been prepared.” She wore richly embroidered clothing in subdued colors, blue and grey. Her ears were a bit pointed hinting at mixed elven ancestry.
A man stood behind her wearing the livery of a butler. He also bowed before them and introduced himself. “I am Roland Brache. I am trained in personal defensive magics and was hired as butler and bodyguard for the young master's stay in the academy, I wanted to make use of this opportunity to meet and welcome you all.”
Maximilian smiled and nodded towards the two servants. “It is good to be here again. The road has become dangerous of late.”
Roland asked while raising an eyebrow. “Do you require healing, a doctor?”
“No, everything that was needed has already been done. But thank you for the offer.”
Mireille looked around admiringly, “I could get used to this.” she whispered after nudging Alyssa.
Alyssa smiled at her, “Then we will have to do our best to deserve it.”
Roland arranged rooms for the bodyguards who would leave them on the morrow.
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Mrs. Silversmith brought the girls to their rooms which were on the first floor. The house had a similar arrangement to the one in Grunewald with the first floor normally used for guests and the higher placed servants, the second floor was reserved for family and because this estate was built upwards, the third floor contained the rooms for the master of the house.
Mireille stowed her belongings and stretched. The room was very comfortable with a large bed, chest, dresser, wardrobe, and a desk with some cupboards and a few chairs. The furniture was of high quality made of polished and varnished wood. Directly adjacent was a bathroom with running water. Sadly the water was pretty cold, normal for the season she supposed. The bathtub could be heated with a metal sphere inscribed with a complex runic array that was put into and out of the water with large metal tongs.
The walls were made of polished stone and hung with tapestries depicting scenes of maritime splendor, ships running before a storm, exotic harbors and islands, even a huge sea monster, a Kraken. She rather approved of the last.
Exiting the room Mireille went into Alyssa’s bedroom, her friend seemed to be preparing a bath so she went and jumped onto the bed. “Yay, it's just as soft as mine.”
Alyssa came out of the bathroom and laughed as she saw her lying spread-eagled on the bed. “Let me guess, you want to sleep here too?”
“That's the plan!” She turned around facing the ceiling.
“It's ok, I don’t hate it,” Alyssa mumbled a bit embarrassed. “But what about Alea?”
“Mh. She will probably not come to us, so we have to go to her, either to get her to come here or we simply sleep in her room, it's probably nicer anyway.” she turned again, “not that it isn't very nice where we are!”
“Let's simply visit her first before we occupy her room!”
“But if she can choose she might choose wrong, for her own good she should have no choice.” Mireille was kicking her feet.
“You can be a bit childish at times.”
“Grandma said if you call a woman young you flatter her, thanks for the compliment!”
“But only when you reach the age of your grandma!”
They left the room, Cyrus who had been drinking out of the water bowl flapped twice and landed on her shoulder, she gasped a bit at the sudden weight. “I fear a diet will not make it better, mh?” And then she rubbed her cheek on his head.
“Did you know that wyvern have something like a purr?”
Cyrus made rasping noises as he continued to rub his head on her neck.
“No, that is something not many people get to experience, I fear.” Mireille seemed amused. "They won't know what they are missing! You will become the definitive expert on wyverns, just you wait!”
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Alyssa put the plans regarding the bath on hold and they went outside to look for Alea.
Asandria floated behind them, visible only to Alyssa, a servant who hurried along the corridor came near her, shuddered, and then instinctively avoided her space. The near-transparent corners of her mouth formed a fleeting smile.
They climbed the broad stairs and entered the second floor. “Oh, they have golden ornaments.” Mireille eyed one especially gaudy picture frame speculatively.
“Don't think about it.”
“Don't read my thoughts! That is worse than thinking about ste...acquiring something creatively!”
Alyssa hugged Mireille who looked surprised. “I am so glad that you are with me. I would not know what to do otherwise.”
“Thank you?” Mireille looked a bit confused then returned the hug. “Let's see if we can find Alea before we are summoned for dinner.”
Alea’s room was painted in pastel colors, mostly blue and green. Tapestries and paintings decorated the walls showing forest scenes with a magnificent green dragon soaring above the trees, nymphs, and satyrs playing in a springtime grove, a procession of the night parade through a woodland at night.
“Who painted that? It's wonderful!” Alyssa exclaimed upon seeing the procession of ghosts and demons dancing underneath a starry sky.
“I think that one is the work of my mother.” The tone did not reveal anything but the spider's arms fell limp and her shoulders tensed.
“Oh, I am sorry to remind you.”
“No, I am glad to have something beautiful left of her, and I am also glad to share it with you. If it were someone I did not like, I would never show them, but I don't mind with you two.”
Books lined the walls, it was a bit less than Alea’s room in Grunewald, but there were a lot of tomes discussing the workings of magic, especially the magic of light. One large tome was made out of a glass-like substance and exposing it to specific colors of light let you view different texts.
“You are rather heavily into light magic?” Mireille asked as she perused the titles.
“Yes. You could say that. But I try to keep a broad range of interests.” Alea scrunched her little nose.
“I..” Alyssa hesitated a bit. “Is necromancy a normal course of study?”
“What?! Necromancy?” Alea seemed startled. “Mh, Max mentioned you used void magic and you did something similar at the battle of the green dragon. That is a close cousin to the control and creation of undead.” She seemed a bit flustered, “You practice the magic of the void?”
“I should have waited for a better opportunity but we have arrived in Kronenburg, and I have to know if I should take care when revealing this affinity of mine.” Alyssa grabbed her left hand, massaging it.
“Ok. The academy does not discriminate. That does not mean that people won’t. And even the teachers are not above some petty behavior. My light magic will elevate me in many a student's points of view, my relative blindness might offset that though. Void magic is not regarded positively, there are not many uses that are not destructive or evil or both. Nevertheless, I have come to regard you as a dear friend and I have some tomes about this subject matter. I will lend them to you, and I will not regard you less fondly because of some ability you have.” She smiled.
“If you should sometimes have misgivings about my magic, talk to me about it. I would never risk our friendship without doing what I possibly could to keep it.” Alyssa rubbed her eyes.
“So, on to the most important question,” Mireille announced from the bed. “Where do we sleep tonight?”
An old servant stopped as he heard laughter from the young miss’ room and sighed, how long was it that he had seen her this relaxed and happy.
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At dinner the same day.
Maximilian sat, with a mug of tea in hand, at the great dining table. The room was smaller than the one in Grunewald, but the decorations were beautifully done with wall paintings framed by plaster and a polished parquet floor. A chandelier with magical lights cast its warm light on the sumptuous dishes. He cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the three girls still eating their dinner. “Tomorrow we will have an appointment with the department for identification and assaying of magical aptitude, in short, the Assay Department. There the three of you will be tested. Mireille, because of your brand only a very high aptitude would be enough to get you enrolled. But if it does not work out I will see what I can do. Alyssa, I saw you use void magic?”
After she nodded shyly he continued. “That can be a problem. The first god-king of Allissair was said to be a master of the void, he used it to breach the dimension between this world and our former home. No one will exclude you because of this, but, the magic of the void is often used to summon aberrations and undead, to corrupt and destroy the living. This is widely known and despised, so prepare yourself to be discriminated against. But power makes its own rules and I am very sure you will be among the more talented even in this academy. But if you should be targeted because of this please talk to us and we will help.” He looked at his sister who nodded firmly.
“Let me make something clear. I have spent some time thinking and I would like to present a deal to you two. You can live in this house and draw upon our resources if you need to. If there are costs associated with your studies we will take care of it within reason. After you graduate, you work for us. Reasonable employment conditions should be a given I think. What do you say? I would really like to recruit you before you are snatched up later.”
Mireille and Alyssa looked at each other. Alyssa spoke first “I think we will discuss this and give you the answer tomorrow, but I can say that I am highly tempted and will probably agree.”
Mireille nodded. “I agree. But one problem could be that I will not be accepted. And there is another...” She cleared her throat and looked again at her friend.
“We are both hunted in Rivenlorn. I think what we did save a lot of lives and if you see it from a more mercantile perspective I have saved a small village and a few dozens of soldiers so I could be more or less be regarded as having paid in full. But the army will most likely not see it that way. And there was this priestess of Ielenia, she was after our heads.”
“Troubling. But Margrinar sees itself as the only legitimate successor to Allissair and this arrogance makes it easy to dismiss charges brought to us from our neighboring nations. I think as long as you don’t want to visit Rivenlorn you should be in the clear. Ielenia's priesthood is more problematic, but they are rigid and unpleasant in their demands- This could help because the authorities will be less inclined to accommodate them. But I won't say that it is solved. I would be glad if you could tell us in more detail, but this does not substantially change the facts. So, tomorrow at the ninth bell. I will instruct old Adam to take you. I will be busy with my own studies. Good luck.” He grinned boyishly.
Dinner was fantastic as usual, and with some unpleasant facts finally brought out into the open the mood Mireille and Alyssa felt a lot better.
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They slept together in Alea’s room.
After using the bathtub to the fullest and eating a hearty breakfast they traveled to the academy. They wore the more formal clothes the seamstress in Grunewald had fashioned.
The second coach was gone when they finally got underway, Maximilian had an early start and mentioned that he would move into the dormitory on campus to cut down on the commute.
After nearly an hour of congested roads and painfully slow progress, they acknowledged the wisdom of his decision even when they would normally prefer the luxurious townhouse.
“Maybe we can travel back on the weekends?” Mireille mused wistfully. “The cook had many more great dishes for me to taste and the bed was so soft!” She puffed her cheeks.
Alyssa smiled at her antics. “The main thing is that we get the same dormitory room, everything else is unimportant.”
Alea hesitated then nodded and said quietly. “I would like that very much. I normally don’t do well with strangers.”
They left the city at some point and the buildings grew sparse, large areas of parkland and man-made lakes alternated. The white buildings they had seen from the far-off hilltop grew into massive halls and towers rising into the crystal clear air.
The main buildings were built around a central plaza decorated with statues of notable worthies of historical significance to the academy, most in traditional robes. The largest building, five stories high, boasted two unroofed flights of stairs that rose in an arc and met at a platform with rails of marble, before a great doorway situated to the front and midst. The off-white walls were carved and decorated with geometric shapes, most likely concealing the presence of magical runes. There was a sense of age and a certain pressure hung in the air. The road curved around the square, beside the main structure there were two flanking buildings, both only slightly less grand with a multitude of large latticed windows facing the awed visitor. They were connected with roofed walkways and then there were several large towers arranged like attendants behind the large central building which were connected by skywalks, there were no visible doors in the lower portions, nor were there many windows, there were nine towers in all.
Alyssa remembered the view from the far-off hilltop and realized, that the arrangement of the large structures, the square, the towers, and the courtyards that were not visible from ground-level view, all was meant to work together as a magical whole. The rune that was thus formed might have been Esos the rune of might. If so, it was a grandiose and somewhat problematic statement when the time of their construction was taken into consideration, which was shortly after Allisair had been destroyed as punishment for the hubris of its inhabitants.
No one had ever accused the old Allisandrians of being humble or, as Alyssa mused, as having learned their lesson.
Then there were some smaller halls that lined the road, most likely dormitories, then there was a mensa and the quarters meant for the staff. The roofs were steeply slanted and plated with copper.
Students hurried along the larger road and on smaller paths strewn with white gravel. Some servants carried sacks and barrels from a parked ox-wagon. Two older female magi employed water magic to care for the flower beds.
The carriage drove along the road and stopped a the front of the square.
Adam knocked on the roof of the carriage and called. “We have arrived. I will see to it that the horses get some water and will come to get you in about an hour. If you need more time, I will wait.”