And so we await Them once more.

Lost in our transgressions.

They have abandoned us here,

To an age without Their grace.

The age we name: The Abandonment.

.      -The Book of the Abandonment 2:29 – 33

A rough hand shoved Celeste down the street.

“Do that again and I swear to the First Mother…” Arabella began from behind Celeste but was quickly silenced with a thud. Celeste couldn’t look back; she knew the sight of them would only break her heart. What was going on? Who were these people? Her eyes darted over the path ahead.

They were in the dark twisting alleyways that snaked behind the major streets of Southshore. A place even the most skilled street child might get lost in if they were not familiar with the area. Stumbling over loose stones as she was shoved along, Celeste looked up at the ramshackle buildings pressing against one another for support. The dim lanterns her captors held the only light in these tight alleys, their illumination casting muddy shadows across those looming structures. It made for an intimidating sight.

At least two dozen burly figures accompanied them. Celeste looked to Vallerian next to her, he seemed like a dangerous animal ready to pounce. They had taken the bow and knife he had hidden under his cloak. But at this point Celeste wouldn’t be surprised to find that he had yet more unspeakable things upon his person.

Vallerian had not turned out to be what she had thought, and she could not rely on him to help protect her handmaidens. Even the sight of him left her numb. She only saw his bloodied fist, slamming into that poor man’s face. She shook her head, not now. No, this was her duty now. She had to make sure everyone made it out of this safely. Celeste turned her attention back to their captors.

A smattering of Fereni, Korek, and even a few Khazimi accompanied them now. All appeared hardened by their time on the streets. Large muscles and simple clothing seemed their common thread. But Celeste noticed an oddity. Only three of them were men, and none of those seemed to be in positions of authority. Even the two apparent leaders were Korek women.

They were intimidating women, their tan-red skin taut around lean muscular shoulders and corded arms. One had an intricate tattoo wrapping around her exposed left arm. The other seemed to take great pride in her hair, twisting braids arranged with obvious care in something reminiscent of the Sherya style. Still, from their statures Celeste had no doubt those women could make short work of even Lord Vallerian. She just had to make sure it never came to that.

Another thing she noticed about these people had to do with their clothing. They were all clean. Not the pristine white silks of the temple, or the gold and silver embroidered masterpieces of the nobility. But they had good, simple, clean woolen clothing. It seemed they took care not to have a speck of mud on them. That and they wore small pins on their tunics, small pins of a silver skull. With how many there appeared to be, Celeste was sure that had cost them a fortune. Where was this money coming from? This person they said wanted to speak with her? This Tabitha, had she done all this?

As they turned a corner, she noticed Vallerian begin to tense. Looking back, Celeste noticed a few more of their guards had walked off, leaving only maybe sixteen remaining, still too many.

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“No.” she whispered to him. Vallerian turned those cold eyes of his to hers, and she held the gaze. She would not have this turn into another disaster. And she would certainly not let him do any more damage. “Do not do it Vallerian.” She insisted, trying not to draw attention. Vallerian grunted, then turned his eyes downward. Good, she thought, that was at least handled for now.

Deep into the sprawling hive that made up the far inner reaches of Southshore; the most industrious parts that nobody but the true denizens of this place ever got to see. They approached a towering structure. The tower itself was a piled together amalgamation of at least a dozen other structures, each stacked one atop another like they had been picked up by a mighty giant and plopped down. Countless different woods in two dozen different architectural styles, depicting everything from the Khazimi brutalyne style to the contemporary Sherya twisting columns. The whole building was propped up by other lower structures, acting like makeshift buttresses. It invoked the image of a palanquin, as though the small homes of Southshore themselves held the tower aloft. The two Korek women strode up to the doors and held them open ahead of her. Celeste breathed, then stepped towards the door.

“Hey!” she heard Arabella shout followed by a smacking sound. The two Korek women moved to intervene, stepping from the door as Celeste spun to see the commotion. Valleresa seemed to have a rope gag around her mouth, and Arabella was being restrained. Vallerian, as Celeste could have expected, was the problem. He had struck down one of the women, and the others began circling him, pulling out knives as they did so.

“Stop! All of you stop!” Celeste shouted. Vallerian shot her an angry look. “You will desist immediately, Lord Vallerian, I will not have any more bloodshed today, do you understand me?” She demanded. She could not abide by more violence. She would meet this Tabitha; she would talk to her. But she could not have any more pain.

The image of that bloodied man, of Gardinal holding her back, churned in her head. The lie of who Vallerian was, lingering along side. That strange flickering she had seen, no, she had felt when she looked deep into him. What had that been? Whatever it was, she knew the flickering had felt broken, and she could not let her friend be broken like that again. She held her gaze with Vallerian, hand held out to side to stop attackers from moving in on him. Eventually Vallerian relented, dropping his posture to a more relaxed one. Not much more, but slightly.

Celeste turned back to the Korek women, they seemed to eye Vallerian warily.

“Come now, we must meet with your mistress.” Celeste commanded, doing her best to sound like her father. She didn’t think she did a very good job. The Korek women looked at her strangely.

“Only you go. Others stay.” The one with the nice hair stated. No, that wasn’t good. Celeste knew she couldn’t leave Vallerian out here alone. He would surely cause some more trouble. Celeste looked around the space for inspiration.

Seeing it now, they were in a small makeshift square out front of the tall tower. Women bustled about, eating, drinking, laughing with one another. But as she took it all in, she noticed it. The only labourers here, were men. They hauled water barrels, tended to animals, and even poured drinks for the lounging women. Whoever these people were, they didn’t seem to think highly of men.

“You would deny me my manservant?” Celeste eventually asked, hoping it would work. The two women grinned.

“No, we don’t.” the tattooed one eventually spoke. “We bind though.” She lifted a thick rope. Celeste nodded and turned to Vallerian. He shot her an annoyed look, and she returned a pleading one. Blessedly Vallerian didn’t fight as the rope was wrapped around his wrists, his hands kept behind his back.

“Tabitha awaits.” The one with braids spoke. They followed her into the building, leaving Valleresa and Arabella behind.

“Keep them safe, Most Merciful.” Celeste whispered a prayer.