Music for today (Couldn’t find anything fitting, but it’s good music): Rok Nardin - Quantum Field (Andor Official Trailer Music)
syoutu.be/cRy5RpOIYkw
Late Evening - Late Sumr - Year 24 : Morva Asari | Siratha
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- Michael Cotorel ~
*pat... pat... pat... Rustle* -Woah...- Walking out to the tip of a tree branch larger than any I could have imagined before crossing the Banvaenn, I used wind magic to peel away the wall of gigantic leaves only to find my eyes settled on what looked like a mountainous tree stump with a top decorated in thick greenery.
From afar it truly looked like nothing more than a canopy of normal trees encompassed by a forest of giants, but the closer you looked, the more you could find detail in the stone protrusions, and the more that idle curiosity turned into a truly blistering fascination.
"Is this really.. a city..?" Feeling my eyes subconsciously widen, my focus drifted over the greenery, picking out the spires of churches, balconies of hos, and faint glow of lanterns exposing the carts of rchants.
It was a city completely unlike anything I had ever seen.. a city so deeply knit with nature that even after recognizing signs of infrastructure, I couldn't shake the thought of the sight being a mirage in the dim moonlight.
Before then, I had only traveled through smaller, more tribe-like towns, questioning the developnt of the country assuming its isolation left its developnt stagnated, especially after spending so much ti in rickety suspended inns while Anton, the kind-faced elf with moss-braided hair assigned as my guide, looked around to find 'soone who could help '.
But this... This shattered that naivety.
"It really is quite a pretty view from up here, isn't it?"
Managing to pick up enough words to understand as Anton walked up next to , I was quick to smile and nod. "Y-yes! It is!" Still in the process of learning the local language, my response was short, carrying a slight waver from uncertainty.
"This is one of my favorite cities in sumr months. When the flowers bloom in the day it's truly beautiful."
-Hm...- Not understanding off the top of my head this ti, I hastily pulled out a small notebook, referencing old notes before docunting unfamiliar words with the context they were used in. -Ah.. so that must an beautiful, and that.. a season.. maybe sumr?-
It was essentially how I was teaching myself the language, a huge dictionary filled out with context clues.
But while troubleso at first, after a few months of doing it, I found so odd pleasure in it.
*fwip-fwip-fwip* Flipping through it, I quickly strung together a number of words before finally opening my mouth with a ticulous, conscious effort. "Is this.. a whole city?"
"Haha," he imdiately let out a comfortable laugh. "It is 'the' city. And no. In recent years it has begun spreading into the forest." Stepping out ahead of , he pointed to the adjacent side of the clearing where, while a bit obscured by leaves, you could see the faint glow of lantern-light peeking through. "It was said that our Lord stayed near here for so ti, so this has beco a rather blessed city."
"Ah, I see." -The reverence these folk have for Lord Vasilias is.. truly remarkable...- Closing my notebook again, I looked back over the clearing, my eyes glimred with youth as if reflecting the flickering of the stars above us.
It was truly like I had stepped into another world after crossing the desert—like I stepped through ti.
But, we weren't there to gawk or sightsee.
Eventually making our way to another tree whose branch hung over the edge of the city, we took a jarringly sophisticated lift down beneath its leafy canopy before being exposed to the glowing beauty and intoxicating scents that overwheld the senses.
A truly unimaginable city, it was. With architecture similar to humans, the buildings were made with a blend of stone or wood, and held together with an woven mix of mortar and vines.
But sohow, rather than making everything look disheveled and abandoned, the plants made it look alive. With large, juicy fruits and intoxicatingly aromatic flowers lining the vines, it all looked purposeful, like a careful decoration of nature akin to royal gilding—a sign of prosperity that spoke a different language from what I knew.
However, after getting pulled from my enchanted trance by the stares of rchants and other passerbys, I noticed sothing else was different about this place.
In the towns I previously passed through, I always caught stares—like an animal in an exhibit—but here.. sothing was different.
Rather than looking enamored, staring at with a childish fascination in their eyes like they were seeing so exotic animal for the first ti, the people here only showed an idle curiosity, and... -...Respect..?-
Watching the people I caught the stares of close their eyes and nod, I started feeling sothing was off... Until that point I had co to believe I was one of the only humans in the entire country.. but sothing in their eyes told .. that wasn't the case...
Turning back to my notebook for a mont, I quickly pieced together a sentence. "Are humans common here?"
The guide, not expecting a question, imdiately shot a curious look, perhaps wondering how the question ca up, before turning away and speaking in a carefree manner. "I wouldn't say common. In terms of number they are quite few, however, as far as I know, every single one is deeply involved with the church."
-What?- "Really?" Assuming I must've just been one of Vasilias’s many recruits, my eagerness rapidly tempered. -I suppose it does make sense for there to be many of them if he recruited soone like ...-
However, after being guided through the streets and brought to a stunning chapel with a little more humility, that naive disappointnt ceased.
-W..what the...- Entering the welcoming, warmly lit and opened doors, a wash of mana rolled over , and the glimr of gold, jewels, intricate carvings and artistically molded stained glass graced my eyes.
Compared to the city outside, it was like I had stepped back into the Holy Kingdom for a mont...
But I couldn't hardly pay attention to any of it.
Inside, not only were there elves and demihumans donning religious garbs, there were also avians, a rfolk—a species I only knew in legend at the ti—and several humans.
However, none of them were like .
Noticing the faint warping of unfathomably complex light magic surrounding each and every one of them, my gut churned at the sight of them...
They weren't who they appeared to be—masking not just their face, but their entire body and species.
And yet no one seed to notice...
But just as the hair on the back of my neck stood up and my senses were heightened, a stunning young man with scaled wings and tall orange horns opened the inner door, and I was given my answer.
"Hello, Travellers." He, unlike everyone else, didn't use light magic to hide himself.
But it exposed everyone else in an instant.
They we're all dragons... "My na is Vradinos, a humble cleric of Lord Nott."
Watching him bow his head politely, a horrific chill ripped up my spine.
The man before was a monster that existed beyond the reaches of humanity, a species that could do anything they wished...
And yet that sa man not only bowed his head to .. but called himself a cleric...
Just the thought made my mind short with a scatter of sparks. Feeling his presence fluctuating, gently probing my aura as if to see if I was really human, I simply froze solid.
Even though the guide, a man I believed to be a humble tribesman, only payed a prideful nod in respects. "Hey, I apologize for coming in at such an hour, but we ca looking for a man nad Bjorn. We were told he was here."
The draconic man imdiately, almost animalistically, tilted his head before locking his gaze on again, paying glances to my notebook and bag. "You,"
Suddenly hearing him speak in my native tongue, my mind hitched.
"Where do you hail from." His voice was firm and suffocating—his presence digging into like an iron maiden.
"T-The Kaelallan Empire.. sir..." I spoke with a tightened stutter, instinctively averting my eyes as if afraid his slitted pupils would cut in two.
"And what brings you here?"
"I-I..." I hesitated, questioning what to say. "I was told by an incredibly powerful being to seek out a woman nad Leif Vilulf residing in this country. I ventured across the Banvaenn in search of her..."
Feeling silence drape over as he paused, every second ticked by like an eternity.
He was skeptical.. but after a mont, he continued with a mumble, "Hm... In that case, co with ."
Watching him turn with a flick, the guide motioned forward, and I followed, tense and hunched.
But the thickening mana and changing air made it hard to keep my head down.
Making our way through another set of double doors, we ca into what appeared to be the prayer hall—not totally dissimilar to those of the Holy Kingdom—a huge open space lined with ancient carvings, paintings, and statues depicting legends and myths, with pews centered around a large central monunt.
But with pews of extruded tree roots, a ceiling hidden by branches and leaves, and the bright glow of moonlight peering through the faintly foggy canopy to iluminate the tree at the center of everything, the space felt like an entirely different from any other church I had been in. The air was thicker, every breath was disorienting, and while my heart was previously racing, the mont I stepped inside, my worries lted into insignificance.
Sothing was.. fundantally different in there... I just couldn't recognize what it was...
Eventually being guided past a number of people praying, the draconic man led to a normal-looking demihuman standing at the base of the central tree, looking up into the moonlight that peered through the branches with a heavy, thought-drowned expression.
"Bjorn," the dragon spoke swiftly, politely, and calmly, keeping up my native tongue. "I believe this man may require your guidance."
"Hm?" Seemingly a bit surprised, the man turned around to lay his gaze upon ... But sohow.. it was weightless... "What sends you to the capital?"
"Uh..." Fighting against the fog overtaking my mind, I continued after a pause, "I was asked to seek a woman nad Leif Vilulf by my Lord."
His gaze rapidly thinned with suspicion. "And who would your lord be?"
"L-Lord Vasilias, sir..." I spoke without thinking.
But the instant my words t his ears, his eyes shot open, and he waved away the dragon next to with haste. "Hoho~!" His face lit with a friendly smile instantly. "How long it's been since I've heard soone use that na!" He extended his hand in a blink. "My na is Bjorn. One of a truly fortunate few to have t the Lord in person."
Taken aback, I found myself mindlessly staring at his hand as if not sure what to do or say.
"Haha, don't be nervous. I'm not strong enough to warrant fear, or deserving of any formality, especially from a man as strong as yourself."
-H..huh?- Finally breaking through the fog, I looked up at him, questioning, before taking his hand.
He wasn't strong.. hardly so.
"See?" Giving a firm shake with a warm smile, my posture visibly eased. "Unlike you, I didn't receive his grace because of my strength or usefulness..." His gaze fell as it grew reminiscent. "I just happened to get lucky enough to et him before I or the rest of Siratha were able to recognize him." Looking back up, his gaze t mine with an ease that almost felt akin to an enlightened monk. "It's a pleasure to et you, Michael!"
Easing my posture, the fog in my mind cleared montarily...
Though.. only long enough for a single question to form. -Did I ever.. tell him my na..?-
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