The short walk to the deck was already problematic but Saelina refused to let it show; who knew what kind of strength she would need to display in the months to come? Her own family had never shown her leniency, she was not about to expect it from a country full of strangers.

When they came outside, she gazed towards the sky and stopped dead in her tracks; above her was nothing but a rock ceiling. She glanced to the sides and realized that they were sailing through a tunnel. Ezeas had moved ahead but was now looking back at her, questioningly.

“Where are we?”

He looked towards the ceiling for a moment then back down at her.

“About half an hour from Gaerwhynn.”

He noticed her confusion and elaborated.

“Islasa is a subterranean country, the surface is nothing but mountains and cliffs. When we were driven from our ancestral lands, we decided to build tunnels underneath the rock, away from sunlight.”

“You mean, everyone lives in these tunnels?”

He made a pensive noise as if unsure how much to tell her.

“Not everyone. But since we're nocturnal by nature, most of us prefer the darkness and safety below ground.”

He gestured to move on and she followed him up onto the quarterdeck, where Laelith was standing at the wheel. Saelina noticed that the crew were giving her odd looks; some seemed afraid while others shot her hostile glares. There were also a few who smiled in admiration, a wholly unsettling experience.

Laelith smiled when she saw them but Saelina thought the expression seemed forced. It was clear her outburst had left its mark on everyone.

“We'll be entering Gaerwhynn around the next bend,” the captain informed, cheerily.

“Do they know to expect us?” Ezeas asked.

“Messages were sent when we approached the tunnels, we got instructions that a delegation will be waiting to escort you and the,” she cleared her throat, “'meddling human' to the council building.”

She gave Saelina an apologetic look.

“Our grandmother has never been one for displaying charm when arrogance is an option.”

Saelina turned her head to Ezeas, who rolled his eyes, and back to Laelith before flashing a crooked smile.

“I should have guessed Essy's personality was passed down.”

The captain laughed, hiding it badly behind a cough, when her cousin shot her a disapproving glare. As the ship turned the bend, Saelina forgot everything about councils and sour faced nyxis; she gasped in awe at the view which spread out in front of her. The tunnel opened up into a massive cavern, so large, she had no view of the far wall, though she thought she could hear the crashing of falling water; the ceiling vaulted high above, to the point were the most remote corners were invisible. And sprawled beneath was a city, bigger than anything Saelina had ever seen. The buildings were carved out from the rock, itself, adorned with intricate patterns and inlaid with colorful crystals. Several upper tiers ran along the sides of the cavern, connected to the bottom via broad walkways, bending lazily upwards in huge spirals. A pale blue light shone down from several massive crystals, growing from the ceiling, each fractured into long thin shards, connected at the base. The light danced between and through the shards, casting a soft glow down upon the city beneath, not quite as strong as daylight but bright enough to clearly display the beauty of the urban landscape.

Many of the windows were filled with orange and yellow lights, much as in a human city; several pillars went from the ground, all the way up, also shown to have inhabitants by the many golden squares, visible even at a distance. It was all too much to take in, in the few minutes it took for the ship to dock.

When the anchor dropped, several of the crew members jumped straight from the ship down to the dock and proceeded to moor it. When the ramp was down, Ezeas led her to a small delegation, waiting at the end of the docks. A tall nyx stepped forward to greet him and gestured to a carriage behind him. It was black with silver frames around the door and windows; beautiful patterns of vines and flowers wound themselves across the silver. A pair of bipedal, raptorial creatures were harnessed at the front, preening their plumage of iridescent black and indigo. Red eyes with vertical slit pupils flickered to observe every movement or noise, around them.

“The high councilor requests that you proceed to the chambers without delay.”

“No rest for the wicked, I see,” Saelina noted, dryly.

Ezeas urged her into the carriage before following.

“I think you've rested enough for the both of us.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

While her muscles screamed in protest, she moved as calmly and gracefully as she could manage and sat down, with a straight back and raised head.

They were seated across from each other, in tense silence, when the door was opened again and Lyari entered, dour-faced and determined. Saelina was cursing every god among the stars as the newcomer decided to place herself next to the lonely human. She had not forgotten the attack in the darkness. Now, that she saw the smug expression on the nyx's face, she knew in her gut that it was no dream. She shifted uneasily and tried not the let the fear show in her movements but it was evident she was failing, as Lyari smirked, slightly. Ezeas seemed to catch the expression and glared at his subordinate sternly enough for her expression to falter and she moved further from Saelina who released a breath in relief. For a moment she was hopeful that Laelith would also be joining but the optimism was quickly dashed when the coach started moving.

Staring out the window, she tried to lose herself in the city to distract herself from the insufferable tension between the three. It did not take long before the nyxis started conversing in their own language; their exchange seemed relaxed but for all Saelina knew they were discussing how to kill her and dispose of her body.

People were moving around in the streets, much as she would expect humans to, though they seemed slightly less guarded towards one another, even openly touching each other's arms and backs. While the impression was not exactly unpleasant it was very different from the society in which she had grown up. As she observed these interactions, it dawned on her that they were carried out by everyone, even those of the higher classes. To imagine people like her family engaging in that type of social conduct was almost enough to make her laugh.

She wondered what her older brothers were doing with their lives, after getting married. Were they as happy as she once thought she would be? Or had reality been unkind to them as well? Were their parents often visiting? Did she have little nieces and nephews whom she would never meet? And what of her little sister? Was her husband every bit the gentleman their mother promised? The four of them had always been tight, even after her unceremonious dismissal from the home. They had sneaked out to visit; her brothers had even put together her hovel, so she would have shelter. Her sister had brought money and food, whenever she could. They had given her their old clothes and kept her company until their father had discovered it. His fury had been felt by every member of the household in the weeks following and even Saelina had not escaped his wrath.

Before the year was out, the three remaining children had been married off and moved away, under great pressure from the patriarch of the family, all to avoid any association between Maxcom Lavenna and the daughter he had dubbed his 'greatest shame'.

The city landscape changed from rows of small houses to gradually bigger ones, spaced further apart. Looking closer, it seemed there were something akin to gardens between them; the plant life was unlike anything on the surface, mostly glowing in soft colors, giving each residence a supernatural feel, something out of a fairy tale. She spied humans among the nyxis, as well as the ever elegant fae folk, whose serenity was emphasized by their warm, sepia complexion. A silvery halo of soft hair accompanied their angelic appearance, the contrast complementing their otherworldly aura. Saelina remembered seeing a few when accompanying her father on his travels; there were rumors that they possessed wings but rarely showed them to non-fae. It had been explained that, despite their wisdom, they did not live long on the mortal plane, instead ascending to a higher existence, from whence they were thought to guide those in the mortal realm.

There were fewer and fewer houses and they seemed to only get bigger, the size of mansions and manors, all cut from the same rock, yet unique in their designs and decorations; even the gardens were wildly different from one another, in both color scheme and arrangement. Buildings were covered in glowing vines, which seemed to wind themselves along predetermined paths to create vibrant designs.

Saelina was pulled away from the view by the sound of agitated voices behind her; though the words were still Islasan, the tone was easily translated. Lyari was furious about Ezeas refusal to see her point. What that point was and why it mattered was beyond Saelina's understanding but she took some small joy in knowing she was probably the only one still getting any enjoyment from the trip.

The carriage finally slowed down and came to a stop outside the biggest building Saelina could recall seeing in this strange place. A row of carefully carved pillars shot up from the top of a few steps; at the top, they split and connected to form several pointed arches below a mass of towers and columns, supported by flying buttresses, everywhere. The central piece was a gigantic dome, in the mid-section of the roof, covered in a radiant pattern, either by vines or magic runes, Saelina could not say. Stained glass windows filled every window space, emitting a soothing glow from within.

Stepping out of the coach, the sheer size was impressed even further upon her, as she was guided towards the entrance; her aching muscles were set aflame, anew, after staying so long in one position. She tried to distract herself by focusing on the structure, towering before her. Colossal wooden doors, in a warm red hue, were shut in place and the delegation were let in through a smaller set, cut out of the left door's bottom. A gruff guard nodded to the leader as they entered.

The inside was just as impressive as the outside. Ribbed vaulting supported the massive structure from beneath; Saelina felt like she was moving through the body of a giant, ancient creature. Piers along either side of the nave supported a triforium, from which several curious faces peered down into the hall they walked through. Every surface seemed to have etchings of the same kind which were so predominant in Islasa, winding their way across the floor, up the walls, even adorning the ceiling.

The centerpiece was a collection of crystals, flowing under the dome, lazily circling, while shining with a warm golden light, which spread through the entire building, reflecting off the windows and reaching the far nooks and corners, leaving no place in complete darkness.

Given the choice, it was easy to imagine spending hours there, simply admiring the crystals; but alas, there was no choice and soon, they had moved to the end of the room and walked through another set of double doors, shutting out the light, behind them.

The hallway they found themselves in was far less extravagant but still beautiful and spacious enough for the whole group to walk, shoulder by shoulder. A set of double staircases wound themselves up from a room at the end. Oil lamps hung along the walls, casting their flickering light as far as they could, creating shadows which moved with each wavering of the small flames.

The group was led up the stairs and through a single door, the first one since arriving, into a large round chamber. A circular table, with the middle cut out, almost filled the circumference of the room, with a path carved out, right in front of the entrance; light shined down from a round window in the ceiling and lamps were hung along the wall. High chairs lined the outer edge of the table, mostly filled with severe looking nyxis whose attention were sharply focused on the newly entered group. One chair stood taller than the rest, directly opposite the delegation, and an older woman sat there, with pure white hair and pale blue eyes. She looked directly at Saelina with a stern expression. As they all stopped in the middle of the circle, she rose and spoke.

“Welcome, human. I hear you have stolen what is rightfully ours.”