A stray strobe of sunlight hit Aelius's eyes, forcing him to wake up. His head was pounding and his throat is parched. 'Where am I?" he thought, as he sat up and observed his surroundings.

He was sitting in a large four-poster bed covered in dark green silk, with clothes strewn around the outside of the bed. Wine bottles littered the area, and the room smelled of roses and cigarettes. He noticed that he was naked, and the woman sleeping next to him was naked as well, her wild hair slightly covering her face.

'Fuck me' he mumbled to himself, slowly remembering what happened the night before. He slowly untangled himself from the sheets and gathered his belongings. As he was zipping up his pants, he heard movement on the bed.

"Leaving so soon?" the girl purred as she propped herself to the side, removing any covering on her body. The sunlight at her back accented her lovely curves, drawing Aelius. He looked away and tried to finish dressing up.

"Yes," he said. "I have to be somewhere."

"Are you sure?" Ayna asked. "You could postpone it and stay with me" she smiled seductively, her snake-like eyes staring directly at him with lust.

Aelius shook his head in her direction. "I can't" he replied. "I thought father had married you off?"

Ayna threw her head back and laughed a bitter laugh. "Do you really think he can marry the Verdant Princess to some smelly old noble, like the other girls?" she sneered. "I am the heir to Verdant, and it is not wise to anger us"

Aelius just resumed putting on his clothes. Once he was done, went straight to the door.

"Not even a goodbye kiss?" Ayna asked with a sultry voice, still naked in bed.

"I'm not your boyfriend" Aelius replied, not even giving her a glance. He shut the bedroom door and went on his way to meet the group.

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The group was already waiting outside the inn when Aelius showed up. Mikael went to him and made a sniff.

"Did you go off drinking last night?" Mikael asked.

"Sorry" Aelius replied. "My friend visited last night and we had a few drinks."

"I think it's more than a few drinks" Mikael muttered. "Are you sure you can guide us, Cyrus?"

Aelius took a deep breath. He rushed out of the Jade Towers back to the Royal House in the Jade City and hastily took a bath and prepared himself so that he'll look presentable. He already had a stressful morning and was not in the mood to be interrogated.

"I am more than capable" he slowly replied. "Can we go now? Our next destination will take an hour or so drive and it's almost lunchtime"

"I wonder whose fault is that" Mikael replied. He took his leave and helped his sister and her friends to the carriage. Aelius took another deep breath to stabilize himself and calm down, before boarding the said carriage as well.

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The sun was at its highest by the time they arrived at their destination. The air was arid and the heat almost unbearable, except for Sola and Aelius. The rest had to remove their cloaks and fan themselves to cool off. Mikael had to remind them that they had to conserve their water if they want to last the trip.

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"Where are we?" Kai asked, fanning herself to feel even a bit of relief from the heat. Sweat was beading out on her forehead.

"This," Aelius said as he gestured at a tall building on top of a hill "is the Temple of the Sun. Home to the flame priests and the Essence of the Sun God"

"No wonder it's hot in here," Sola said. While she was fairing well compared to the rest, she was accustomed to Lunarias cold mornings. "And you expect us to climb?!"

"Why yes" Aelius replied with a smile. "The Temple is a very popular place for visitors, and walking up the Dragon's Rest is a mark of respect for the Sun God."

The group groaned at the prospect of walking. "Come on, if you want to get out of the heat, we have to make it inside," Aelius said as he happily started to trek Dragon's Rest.

Dragon's Rest is a huge hill made of red soil with sparse vegetation. Stairs were carved at the side of the hill and marked with golden-colored marble to help visitors and pilgrims alike climb the hill toward the temple. The Temple of the Sun is a large domed church made of gold and bronze, its a roof made of glass to reflect the sun on its head. Tall towers are placed on each corner of the temple with some guards placed.

"Those are the Red Guard," Aelius said to the group as he pointed to one of the men outside the temple. "Their main priority is to maintain peace in this temple. Any person deemed unruly will be either thrown out of the hill or suffer at the Flaming Jail" Aelius explained.

"Flaming Jail? What's that" Selene asked as she wiped her sweat.

"Its name implies what it is. The high amount of heat is put in those jails, almost cooking the skin, since it will be surrounded by large flames supplied by the Red Guard" Aelius told her. "So better behave"

The group entered the temple, where they are greeted with refreshing wind, but even harsher light from the reflecting sun. Braziers on the side produce blue flames that add to the already blinding light. A long red carpet was laid out in the middle of the main hall, with a very ornate altar at the very end. Oak pews lined the sides of the carpet for devotees to pray to the Sun God in peace.

The devotees currently kneeling in some of the pews wore a black and red veil, covering their heads and faces, regardless of gender. While the priests currently present wore long white robes with gold trimmings, and a large Mark of the Sun embroidered on the backs; a white veil was covering their faces as well, held by a cowl over their heads.

The group dispersed quietly to check and admire the Temple of the Sun. Golden statues of past Kings and Queens lined up on the side, posing as guardians of those who are praying. Selene slowly went to the glorious altar of gold. As she neared it, she saw that behind the altar was littered with small suns embossed on a large carving of a half sun. Blue flames sprung for each sun ray. In the altar held a large book, mainly used by the High Sun during their masses.

Selene was mesmerized by the opulence of Solaria's church. The Lunar Temple was simple and minimalistic at its best. And while she was fascinated by the designs of the temple, there was one thought that kept bugging her. 'What a waste of gold' she kept on thinking.

She looked for the others, wanting to join them, and spotted their guide at the side, hiding in the minimal shadows provided in the temple.

"Cyrus," she called as she neared him. "Are you okay? You seem tired?"

Aelius sighed. He was not tired, but rather trying to hide from the people and priests. He already had to glare to those who wanted to greet him, just to get them away from him.

"I'm fine, no worries Calypso" he replied. "I'm just enjoying the wind here inside the temple"

Selene cocked her head to the side, curious as to why there was wind inside a very hot temple.

"The wind comes for several Airean Sun Priests, whose main job is to provide circulation inside the temple. If it weren't for them this dome is going to be like an oven" he chuckled.

Mikael suddenly joined the two of them. "Cyrus," he said. "You mentioned the Essence of the Sun, is it there on the altar?"

"No. The Essence is encased in the Holy Solarium" Aelius explained. "Only those willing to be Blessed by the Fire can come inside, accepting the purest form of the Sun."

Mikael was curious. "And how does one get to be blessed by the sun?" he asked. "Not that I want to be blessed, rather I just want to compare the blessing from the ones we had back home"

Aelius looked him in the eye. "Anyone can be blessed, however not everyone will."

"Why is that?" Selene interjected.

"Because you'll be burned alive" Aelius replied. "And only those who survive will receive the blessing.