[Realm: Uhorus]
[Location: Verdantis]
[Capital City]
Ever since the sky had darkened and twisted into that foul thing, it had beco increasingly difficult to properly judge the passage of ti.
Day still ca and night still followed.
At least, that was what people insisted.
Yet the wounded heavens above Verdantis blurred the distinction between the two. The darkness hanging overhead swallowed much of the light that should have illuminated the world below.
Today was a new day.
At least so people were certain of that.
In Verdantis, however, certainty was difficult to co by, especially within the capital.
The city rested against an imnse snow-covered mountain, its towering form casting its own shadow over sections of the settlent.
Yet life continued; it always did.
People moved through the streets despite the cold; rchants opened their shops, children darted between adults through snow-lined pathways, workers carried supplies, and travellers arrived and departed.
The churches remained busy; so entered seeking guidance, others sought comfort, and so simply wished for answers that no mortal seed capable of providing. And many prayed, so before statues of Octavia, others before Astraea and still before Xylohr.
The people of Verdantis had never been particularly selective in their worship; this was a holy nation, after all. Most believed there was little harm in asking multiple Gods for assistance when calamities were tearing holes through reality.
Lucinda and Alyssia walked side by side through the snowy streets.
Though neither currently looked quite like themselves, a simple transformation spell had altered their appearances.
Their hair now bore dark black pigntation, and their eyes had shifted into shades of lilac. The resemblance to a certain Court Mage of Galadriel was not entirely coincidental.
Alyssia had found it amusing, and Lucinda suspected Lyra had as well.
Their clothing, however, remained unchanged; neither had bothered altering that.
The snow crunched beneath them as they walked.
For a ti neither spoke; both occasionally glanced towards the crowds passing around them.
Alyssia seed particularly interested in the city itself; her gaze wandered constantly. Studying buildings, roads, people and all the changes.
Three centuries was a very long ti; eventually she looked upward. Towards the enormous mountain overlooking the capital. Parts of the city had been built directly into it. Structures clung to the stone at various elevations while stairways and pathways disappeared into the snowy heights.
"The capital is much larger than it was in my ti." There was no disbelief in her voice, but there was interest. Her eyes remained fixed on the mountain. "And there certainly wasn’t a mountain this large here."
Lucinda followed her gaze; the mountain was difficult to ignore.
"I suppose a lot can change in three hundred years." Her answer carried a thoughtful note. Three hundred years – even saying it still felt strange. That history was sothing one read in books, yet for Alyssia, it was mory.
The aforntioned girl humd quietly.
"A lot changes." Then she glanced upwards at the dark sky, her expression imdiately souring. "Everything except this dreadful weather."
Lucinda almost smiled as Alyssia folded her arms.
"Honestly, having to constantly maintain spells just to keep the cold from biting at is exhausting." Her nose wrinkled slightly. "It feels like a waste of effort."
"A rather minor effort," Lucinda pointed out.
"It is still effort," Alyssia huffed.
Lucinda’s smile beca slightly more obvious. "Well, Verdantis is the northernmost region." She brushed a stray snowflake from her armour sleeve. "The climate is hardly unexpected."
"That doesn’t an I have to like it." Alyssia sounded deeply unconvinced as her gaze drifted towards the distant cityscape. "I preferred Zephyria." The statent erged almost absentmindedly. "It was warr." Her expression softened slightly. "The cities were grander as well." Then after a brief pause she continued. "And the food was considerably better."
That last point seed particularly important to her.
Lucinda tilted her head; the comnt had caught her attention.
"You’ve been there before?"
Alyssia nodded. "Yes."
For a mont her voice remained casual, then a nostalgic note entered.
"An arranged marriage."
Lucinda blinked.
Alyssia continued walking.
"Back when I was still pretending to be a princess." The words sounded lighter than the mory behind them. Lucinda remained silent, allowing her to continue at her own pace. "My father..." The hesitation appeared imdiately.
It was impossible to miss.
Lucinda noticed the way Alyssia’s gaze lowered, the way her steps slowed slightly and how her expression briefly beca distant. Like soone looking at a mory she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to revisit.
For a mont neither spoke.
Alyssia shook her head, almost physically pushing the thought away.
"My father was a fool." The statent should have sounded harsh; instead, it carried an emotion far more complicated. Frustration, affection, disappointnt and understanding all tangled together. "There were tis I thought he believed marriage could solve every problem in existence."
A small sigh escaped her.
"He was desperate to marry off." Her eyes remained fixed ahead. "And my would-be suitor happened to be Zephyrian royalty."
Lucinda considered that quietly; the image was easy enough to imagine. Those political marriages that carried expectations and obligations. Lives decided by people far removed from the consequences.
"I cannot imagine that being particularly pleasant," Lucinda said after a mont.
Alyssia imdiately snorted. "Pleasant is certainly one word for it," the dry sarcasm returned. "It was irritating." She paused for a mont. "No." A second pause followed shortly after. "Actually, irritating is too mild." Her expression beca thoughtful. "I spent months listening to people discuss my future as though I weren’t present."
There was no bitterness in her voice as she spoke.
"They liked discussing alliances." She shook her head. "Very few seed interested in asking what I wanted."
Lucinda found herself frowning slightly.
Alyssia chuckled softly, though there wasn’t much amusent in it.
"Then again, that was hardly unusual." For a few monts they simply walked; snow drifted lazily through the air around them as Alyssia spoke again. "It was especially frustrating considering I already had soone I—"
She stopped instantly; the interruption was so abrupt it almost looked painful. Alyssia blinked as though realising what she had nearly said, then she cleared her throat far too quickly.
"N-nothing." Her gaze imdiately darted elsewhere. "Moving on."
The response arrived with such obvious haste that it accomplished the exact opposite of what she intended.
Lucinda slowly turned her head, and Alyssia very deliberately refused to make eye contact.
Alyssia could practically feel Lucinda’s curiosity lingering beside her.
The other spawn had been polite enough not to press the issue.
For now.
Which made it worse.
Lucinda was the sort of person who would patiently wait for an answer rather than demand one, and Alyssia had the uncomfortable suspicion that such patience was significantly more dangerous. So before that conversation could circle back toward her unfortunate slip of the tongue, Alyssia decided to redirect it.
Imdiately.
"H-how about you?" The words ca a touch quicker than intended; she cleared her throat. Trying—and failing—to look entirely casual. "Has there ever been so annoying prat who thought forcing you into a marriage was a brilliant idea?"
Lucinda glanced toward her; the question was painfully transparent. Alyssia was changing the subject; they both knew it.
Fortunately, Lucinda decided to indulge her.
For now.
"Well..." Her gaze drifted upward toward the sky overhead. The dark skies had beco such a constant sight that sotis she forgot how unnatural they truly were. "There was a ti when it was considered."
Her expression grew sowhat more thoughtful as she continued.
"I was much younger then." Snow crunched beneath them as they continued walking. "Galadriel was in the midst of a war. A great deal of the conflict involved it and Vel’ryr."
Alyssia listened quietly; unlike her own story, there was no embarrassnt attached to this one. Lucinda was reflecting, looking back at a period of life that no longer felt entirely distant.
"I’d hazard a guess and say that had sothing to do with you being a spawn of Octavia." Alyssia didn’t bother softening the observation. There was little point; both of them understood exactly what she ant.
A title like that was never rely a title. It was influence, power, and, above all else, expectation. A bargaining piece for people who thought in terms of nations rather than individuals.
Had anyone else phrased it so bluntly, Lucinda might have winced slightly, and she might have found the wording uncomfortable.
But Alyssia wasn’t anyone else; she understood the reality of it better than most.
Lucinda nodded after a few monts.
"You would be correct." There was no use pretending otherwise. "At the ti, relations between Verdantis and Galadriel were strained as well." Her eyes lowered toward the snowy road ahead. "Not openly hostile, perhaps."
She considered that for a mont.
"But certainly unstable." The mory felt distant now, like sothing preserved at the far reaches of her mind. "Political marriage was discussed."
Alyssia made a face.
Lucinda noticed, and the reaction almost made her smile.
"However, Verdantis didn’t actually possess any suitable candidates." She spread her hands slightly. "There was no king, prince, or princess. Only the governing body."
Alyssia nodded. "That is admittedly a rather significant obstacle."
Lucinda nodded as well. "Quite." A small smile appeared briefly. "The proposal eventually died because there simply wasn’t anyone available to marry."
The absurdity of it still sat strong even now. As though people had spent weeks discussing solutions only to eventually realize a rather important component was missing.
For a few monts she was silent, then her smile faded.
"Still..." Her gaze drifted toward the passing crowds. "I rember how desperately people pursued the idea." Her voice beca quieter. "I do not think it was because they were cruel. Not most of them, anyway. But they wanted sothing."
It was probably stability, security, and peace, maybe a future.
"They convinced themselves it was reasonable." Her brow furrowed slightly. "How desperate people beco when they convince themselves that the thing they want is important enough." Lucinda’s words did not sound bitter or disgusted but more so confused at the re prospect.
Alyssia was quiet for a mont.
Then she found herself murmuring,
"Humans, huh?" The words escaped before she could stop them; Lucinda imdiately turned toward her. Her expression carried obvious confusion, and Alyssia noticed. "What?" She lifted a shoulder; the gesture was almost innocent. "We’re basically not human." The statent was delivered with surprising ease. "So I think we’ve earned the right to complain about people."
Lucinda stared, then chuckled; the reaction earned a slight frown from Alyssia.
"What?"
"You’ve accepted that remarkably quickly." Lucinda’s amusent remained evident. "Most people would struggle with that realization."
Alyssia considered the statent.
"I rely had more ti to adjust." Her answer ca quietly.
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