2nd of Aldurmh, 1259th of the First Age.
Terrianis stood at the highest platform’s edge overlooking the capital dressed in the second light of the year. The first season, the season of foundation and new life just begun the new year with the festivities down came slowly into their final stages.
For the common folk these festivities include the usual theatrical festivities where bards and poets recount poems and plays of love while the various bakeries, taverns serve their best dishes and alcohol to the audience. Then as the night goes on, the more lecherous activities start when alcohol and warm food revitalize the pairs who retreat to nearest place – be it their home or one of the myriad taverns of the capital. During the first three weeks of the season, it was said that the Almodo influence increased the nurturing seed’s potency.
Which was also why these days were used by Terrianis to spread his own seed in the most favored wives of his that still remain in the Radiant Keep. While decades before he would spend his time already with them, these past two decades he had always come to visit the Oracles, listening to their riddles with hope in his heart. Yet each year, his hope had been shaken with each word they spoke into his mind. Even now his prismatic draconic eyes slowly focused onto the horizon where the peaks of Vhalleryon were visible.
Behind him at the entrance gate stood the two Impirith Praetoriir in their garish segmented armor with a prismatic luster unparalleled only by the personally handcrafted pieces of the Imperial Family’s armors. Their visages hidden behind their helmets that perfectly followed the lines of their heads, with slit eye and mouth holes from which mist escaped as they stood in silence akin to two decorative superbly crafted sculptures.
Hands hidden under layers of refined aevhen silken of dancing myriad colors and the clawed vambrace gauntlets trembled against the cold of the night as they grappled their long spears, their ends way above their helmet’s graceful red plumes brazened by the cleansing wind.
Their wordless order came when Terrianis turned to the side and walked towards the small, pristine alabaster structure of rectangle proportions. Azure edges hewn precisely, shaped by hands and minds well-versed in earth maghia, each corner was marble threads stretched and positioned closely to each other as they reached from ground to ceiling.
**
“This is the one.” Ivor said as he and Aurelithae arrived at the dilapidated shack at the far end of the valley and near the port of the capital on the bottom level. The lowest level of the city where most of the common caste lived and worked still haven’t moved beyond wooden structures built first by the clan of aevhes who settled her a thousand year ago.
On the west bank most of the structures were the homes of the folk down here. Essentially homesteads of deep mahogany walls with the roof a thick woolen sheet nailed at the corners. Not even windows ornated the walls, including the ones that were built with numerous levels. Only the roads were paved with the same transmuted white marble that made up the upper levels.
The east bank on the other hand were home to the mines that led into the belly of the mountain where precious metals grew infused with the mana that flowed from the nexus point deep under the capital. These metals were transferred either to the smithies on this level or brought to the higher where they were worked on by the dwarves and aevhen smiths for the legions.
The smithies of the east bank were the only structures that were made of the same pristine alabaster marble. Circle holes were carved into them with a smoke gate built into them – which were metallic disk that with pouring mana into them closed to keep the cold outside or open it during the busy hours.
“There two on the ground level, the rest with the captives on the top level.” Aurelithae stated after she placed her soft palm onto the old door that croaked silently while her mana formed into inscription flowed into the building. It encompassed the whole, and she sensed the pulsing vitae of the thugs who captured a family of merchants working with the New Dawn. The family was kidnapped during the late hours of the festivities when the mother and father were heading for a nearby in at the port, while their four kids were waiting back at another with their caretaker.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Without saying a word, Ivor looked around the deserted street and leapt high to the roof of the adjacent homestead. Amidst a glow of arkhaine energies with a curving shape – his bow appeared in his right hand and his left already prepared an arrow with its tip slowly turned transparent.
Aurelithae inhaled deeply, the cold air gently caressed her trained lungs before they left as quickly as they came. Her left hand swiped and the door silently opened followed by the two thugs – one a larger, bulkier with a gruff voice, the other a higher pitched and slender body with feminine outlines shown by her dark velvet and leather attire. Before the two could alert their comrades, they collapsed to the ground. The orkh with a dry husk of a corpse, the other a Changed-Kin with arms of wet pale flesh riddled with a single arrow right in her heart.
Without saying a word Aurelithae continued towards the stairs and as swiftly and silently as she could, climbed towards the top where a closed door greeted her. A yelp escaped her lips when she reached the top – as the door swung open and a slender, yet muscled arm grabbed her by her collar and threw her across the room. She landed upside down with her frail body crashing the single furniture inside the room – a large cabinet filled only with dust and webs.
“Get her!” The honeyed voice of the man came, but before any of his two comrades could get to Aurelithae, arrows penetrated the wooden walls without damaging the mahogany walls. One ended up in the cloak veiled head of a short statured dwarf whose thick silverish blood formed a puddle on the old floor. The other found its way into the neck of the haebrian evident from his throttling while his transparent azure blood tainted his cloak.
“Damn it. That wasn’t part of the deal.” As the thug cursed his employer under his breath, Aurelithae leapt onto her feet. Her finger locked and with her right palm held out, light blue energies in a spherical shape ejected from it and flew towards the thug. The deathly spell exploded silently upon hitting the ward erected by the thug. “And a death magus of all things is my opponent. Hey girl aren’t you young to learn such spells?”
Aurelithae remained silent as she turned her palm down and from the floor a piece came out and reshaped into a quarter staff that landed in her soft embrace of her closed fist. The moment she sensed her leg muscles lighten up, she sprung towards the thug swinging her makeshift weapon at the joint just at the base of his neck. The thug carefully evaded while backing towards the door, contemplating whether to bother with keeping the goods or run for his life.
In the end he grabbed the upper end of the staff aimed at his head with his palm emitting a hiss upon impact. “Huh?” Surprise was plastered across his veiled, aging face for a moment as no matter how much power he exerted, he could not move Aurelithae who used this opportunity. Her feet planted into his abdomen and he flew down the stairs and into the wall that stopped him from going further. His blood tainted the veil that masked his lower visage while pain spread all over his body while gasped for air.
“You will sorely regret this!” With every painful breath, he mustered those words out one by one as Aurelithae slowly approached her akin to the depiction of the Silent Shepherd approaching the fool who tried to escape their inevitable fate. The last thing he saw was the end of the quarterstaff before darkness swallowed all.
“Good work little one.” Ivor praised Aurelithae as he entered. The moment he witnessed the faint arkhaine outline of the thug flew down the stairs, he leapt down from the roof and entered just as the last hit echoed through the room. He poked the head of the groaning thug while keeping one hand over his dagger.
“Is he alive?” Aurelithae asked calmly as she towered over her former opponent.
“Yep. Will awake with a pretty bad case of a headache, but nothing more serious at least, I think. Go check on them, I’ll secure him.” Ivor rolled the thug unceremoniously onto his back and crossed his wrists as he pointed with his eyes up to the second floor while he prepared his ropes enchanted to sap the stamina and mana of the unfortunate victim.
Aurelithae pinched her nose veiled under a layer of illusion spell when she stepped back into the room where the other thug’s corpses started emanating the pungent odor of early decay. She tiptoed between the corpses as she headed straight towards the closed door facing towards the west. It opened without the need of a key or spell, inside she could feel the unseen, swirling energies of mind maghia.
In the soft shadows, she noticed all five members of the family sitting on the floor, their backs leaned against the walls while their heads unanimously hunched down. Their eyes lacked the light of intelligence, conscience. Even the colors of their blue and green eyes faded ever so slightly as they stared at their thighs unresponsive to the creaking of the old door.
Aurelithae almost yelped when she felt the firm, cloth covered hand of Ivor touch her left shoulder. “Let’s bring them back before anything finds their way into them.” He said with a sour expression as he looked at the family – all with the same fair complexion as his.
She nodded in agreement before a question surfaced within her. “What about the thug?”
“Dead. Seems whoever hired them made sure they won’t talk, no matter what.” Ivor said as he walked inside and inhaled deeply as he spread his mana encompassing the five. Aurelithae walked beside him and they all disappeared as reality contorted and fell into itself before it sprung back like a squashed rubber ball.